Void of Mind
by StoryTimeWithZora
Summary: Starscream wakes up in the middle of the desert with no memories whatsoever. He does not even remember his own name, the Transformers or Energon. The Autobots capture him and intend to use his amnesia to their advantage. But how long can they keep the Seeker with them until he learns the truth? And what or who caused Starscream to lose his memories? Will Megatron get his SIC back?
1. His Name Is Starscream

CHAPTER 1

His Name Is Starscream

* * *

At first, there was darkness.

Then, there was a sound.

He opened his optics and found himself lying on the ground. It was a dry ground, made mostly of sand and rock, but it had tufts of grass sticking up here and there.

His head hurt. He reached a servo and held on it. He sat up and felt how the headache got worse, making him dizzy. After getting used to sit up for about a minute, the headache seemed to vanish. In return, he started feeling discomfort on the inside and laid a servo on his abdomen, trying to soothe the pain.

"What happened...?" he said and was surprised to hear his own voice. It was scratchy and somewhat high-pitched, like an old radio that had difficulty switching between channels.

He looked at his servos and took a look down at himself. He was mostly silver, but had blue pedes and lower arms, while his chest seemed to be red. His digits were long and sharp like claws. He did not know what he was looking at.

He did not know _who_ he was looking at.

Who was he? What was his name? How did he get here? Where did he come from? What had happened to him?

Why couldn't he remember anything?

He decided to stand up, steadying himself onto his long legs, ignoring the discomfort and looked down at his large figure. He felt something funny on his back and looked. What were those things sticking out of his sides? Those things that moved up and down as he looked around in confusion?

"Who am I?" he asked himself. "What happened to me?"

He looked around once again, but found no one present to tell him. He did see an odd line on the ground, dark gray as opposed to the overall orange rocky ground, and it had thinner white lines in the center. He walked over to the line, knelt down and poked it with a digit. It didn't feel like the orange ground. It felt more smooth and warm. Perhaps it was a path of some sort?

"Maybe this will lead me to someone who can tell me who I am," he said and got up.

He chose a direction and followed the path, walking calmly, though with some soreness in his torso, while looking from side to side, taking in the landscape surrounding him. Huge rocks, mesas, plateaus, adorned the horizon, which was light blue with a few white clouds scattered here and there on the sky. A sun shone down on him as he walked for miles until he reached someplace new.

It was smaller than the surrounding area, but it was still somewhat big. Large mesa-like things stood here and there close to each other, most of them silver or black. Small things were moving in and out of the area on more of those strange little paths with white lines in the center. Even smaller beings were walking like he did, along those paths, some entering the strange mesas.

"Maybe they can tell me who I am," he said to himself, assuming the moving things were alive.

Without hesitation, he walked into the area and looked down at the small beings that started screaming and running as they laid eyes on him. He looked around, unaware it was him they were afraid of, and decided to talk to one of them.

"Excuse me," he said, but the little screamers were already seeking shelter inside the weird rocks.

"Can I ask you something?" he tried asking another, but they simply ran away without answering. Could they not see he just wanted to ask them a question?

The noise was awful. He was beginning to get another headache, and he found the high-pitched screams annoying for some reason.

"Why are you all running away?" he said, starting to get frustrated. "Why won't you shut up and listen to me?"

Again there was no answer. But only because there was no one outside anymore. They had all fled into those strange square-shaped rocks with crystal-like patches that enabled him to see the inside of the rocks. He looked through one. A group of the screamers were gathered inside, seemingly terrified as he gazed at them. He noticed a pair of red dots on the clear surface and adjusted his optics.

He saw a face not belonging to any of the screamers. He blinked, he gaped, he tilted his head, and he watched as the face did the same at the same time. It appeared to be his face. He had a pair of red optics with white pupils in the center, gaze fixed on himself. From his optics were a pair of black lines going down, below them was a mouth filled with two rows of flat dentas and a gray tongue protuding between the rows of dentas. His face was dark gray, his head covered by a black helm in a somewhat square shape, and just above his optics was a pair of black optical bridges. A pair of grill-like things protruded from the sides of his helm, assumingly what allowed him to hear.

Unable to see himself in full figure, he turned away from the clear surface to find a bigger one. He walked for a bit until he came across a rock with fairly shiny sides, not clear like on the smaller rock, but shiny enough that he could see himself in full figure and much more clearly.

He was tall, sleek, shiny silver with a red torso, blue lower arms and pedes, as well as something orange in the center of his chest. Furthermore, he could more clearly see the odd things sticking out of his back, also silver, with red stripes on each. On each of the things he saw an odd symbol in purple. It looked like a face, and a rather ominous one. For some reason, it made him feel uncomfortable. Looking himself over again, he began to also notice several scratches on his face and across his body. They seemed to be merely superficial and didn't sting, though there was a lot of them.

"You there! Freeze!" someone shouted.

He turned around and moped. He had been surrounded without noticing, even in the shininess of that odd mesa. There was a bunch of screamers around a group of larger objects, somewhat round and edgy with rods sticking out of them, having holes at the tips. The objects were green and spotted, and so were the screamers. He tilted his head in confusion.

"Freeze?" he replied confused. "What do you mean?"

"Put your hands up!" the screamer shouted.

He looked down at himself and gazed at his servos.

"You mean these?" he asked and held them up. Suddenly a pair of rods similar to the green objects appeared on his arms, though his were silver like his torso. "What the...?"

"FIRE!" the screamer shouted.

Suddenly a volley of fire launched upon him. He felt the little fireballs sting his armor but they did not do much damage. The attack did surprise him, however, and he retaliated by instinctively swiping his claws across the screamers, knocking several on the ground or onto the structures around him. The action caused the discomfort in his torso to intensify a bit and he froze with a faint groan. As the pain subsided, he watched as his blue claws were stained red and stared in wonder. The screamers were red on the inside yet colorful on the outside?

He didn't get to wonder long before one of the green objects suddenly shot a large fireball at him, exploding in his chest. The force of the blast was more powerful than that of the tiny rods the screamers were carrying, and he was knocked into the structure, which began shattering into shards with high-pitched sounds.

He opened his optics, sitting on the ground, holding a servo on his pained abdomen and stared into the green object, pointing its rod at his face, which was probably from where the fireball came. If it launched another one, he would probably receive a lot more than a few scratches.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, worried about his safety. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You just slaughtered my men in cold blood, and you wonder what you did to us?" the screamer shouted. "You won't terrorize humanity any longer, Starscream!"

"What did you call me?" Starscream asked offended.

"Take this!"

The green object launched a fireball, hitting Starscream in the face. The power of the impact knocked him unconscious, leaving him at the mercy of the screamers.

"He's down, Commander," one of the men said. "Should we finish him off?"

"No," the Commander replied, studying the unconscious bot. "Chain him up. We'll bring him to HQ and let the Autobots decide his fate."


	2. Captured

CHAPTER 2

Captured

* * *

Starscream was unconscious for an uncertain amount of time before he woke up again. When he did, he found himself bound by chains around the arms and legs, the pain in his torso stinging ever so bitterly, though now he was unable to put a servo on it to soothe the pain. He was sitting on a hard floor, located in some kind of cave, from what he could tell. He wasn't sure of anything recently. He couldn't remember a single thing, other than his instincts, the ability to move and talk. It was as if he had just been brought into existence, not even knowing his own name.

He recalled being attacked by small screaming creatures and large round green objects, both of which launched fireballs of weak and powerful proportions. He tried pulling at the chains on his arms. They didn't feel particularly endurant, but for some reason he felt weak. As if he had been drained of energy at some point. If only he could remember how he had ended up out in the desert.

A desert. The place he had been in was called a desert. The path he had followed was a road. The area he had arrived in was a city, and the 'mesas' covering it were buildings. And the green objects with weird rods were tanks. For some reason all these things came to him as clearly as if he'd never forgotten them. But what were those tiny screamers? And who was he?

"Hello," a tiny voice sounded from the floor.

Starscream looked down. A tiny screamer wearing pink stood in front of him. It had something long and brown coming out of its head, and its tiny eyes were bright blue. It seemed to be smiling at him.

"H...hello," he said and was surprised how hoarse and strained his voice was. It must have been damaged by the tank's attack. "What are you?"

"I'm a girl," the screamer said. "My name is Amy. What's yours?"

Starscream looked at the girl and was silent for a moment, trying to remember. "I don't know," he replied. "Do you know who I am?"

"Sure, you're a Transformer," Amy replied. "You're one of those giant robots that turn into cars and planes, right?"

"A Transformer?" Starscream replied. "I can turn into cars and planes?"

The girl giggled at his response. "Probably not all of those. I'm guessing you can turn into a plane, since you have wings."

"Wings..." Starscream turned his head to look at his wings, which flapped in response, temporarily forgetting the pain in his chest. "Right, those are wings. I can fly with those. But...how?"

"That's for you to find out," Amy replied with a smile. "Oh, it sounds like someone's coming. Well, see you later!"

Starscream returned his gaze to the girl. "Wait!" But as he looked, she was already gone. Looking forward, he noticed a row of bars lined up in front of him. He was trapped in some kind of cage. He heard a couple of voices, one small and squeaky, another loud and dark, slightly static. The strange voice made him uneasy somehow.

"Right here," the small voice said. "I can't believe how easily we captured him, considering how many of my men were killed in the process."

In front of him appeared the Commander of the screamers from earlier...as well as a larger form, a bot like himself, but solid red and boxy. The bot had a light gray face plate, stern blue optics and a mouth in the shape of a frown, which soon turned into a toothy smile.

"Well, well, well," the bot said with a deep, thick accent. "If it isn't Starscream. Never thought I'd see yer ugly mug again."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Starscream asked offended. "What is a 'Starscream'? Whatever it is, I certainly am not one!"

The red bot raised an optical ridge. "That's yer name, remember? Where've ye been all this time, 'Con?"

"You continue to insult me?!" Starscream shrieked, though not knowing the meaning of what the bot said. "First you call me Starscream, and then you call me Con. What does that mean, anyway?! Why won't anyone tell me anything?!"

The red bot stood straight, a seemingly surprised expression adorning his face.

"Wait, you seriously don't remember?" the bot asked. "You remember me, right? I'm Ironhide."

"Ironhide?" Starscream asked with a raised optical ridge. "Never heard of you. Do you know me?"

"Know you?" Ironhide repeated, seemingly offended for some reason. "Of course I know you, you're-"

"Hey, Ironhide," the Commander interrupted the bot. "Maybe it's better he doesn't know. We should report this to Optimus."

Ironhide silenced. "Yer right," he replied. "This could work in our favor. A'right, hey, Starscream."

"Is that my name?" Starscream asked, being less offended and more concerned. "Because if it isn't I'd advice you to stop calling me that."

"It's yer name, don't worry," Ironhide continued. "Anyways, I'm gonna go fer a while, but I'll return again later with a few friends. Then we'll see what yer up to."

"As long as you can explain to me what's going on, I don't care what you do. Get on with it!"

"Well, his attitude's not changed, at least," Ironhide said as he started leaving. "C'mon, Leon, let's go tell the others."

"Right behind you, 'Hide," Leon replied and followed the red bot.

Starscream sat back and thought about the things he had just learned.

His name was Starscream. Not a particularly respectable name, but perhaps he could make do with it. At least he knew what his name was now. And that screamer was apparently called Leon. And that red bot, was he called Ironhide?

They said something about 'the others'. Did they mean other bots? Perhaps other so-called 'Transformers' like that girl Amy said? They also said something about someone named Optimus. Perhaps this 'Optimus' knew something about him?

"So your name is Starscream, huh?" Amy's voice said all of a sudden.

Starscream looked down and saw the girl, standing right below him in the same spot she had before. Inside his cell.

"Where did you come from?" Starscream asked surprised. "How did you get in here?"

"I snuck in," Amy replied and gave a cheery smile. "I was hiding until they left. Nice to meet you, Starscream!"

Starscream frowned at the girl, more out of confusion than of annoyance.

"You are a strange 'girl', is that what you said you were?"

"I'm a human," she replied. "Leon's a human too. But I'm a girl, and he's not. He's a man."

"Human? Man? Girl?" Starscream couldn't wrap his head around all these terms. "How am I supposed to know what's what?"

"You'll figure it out soon enough," Amy chuckled. "Well, it was nice talking to you. I'll see you later!"

Starscream watched the girl scurry through the bars and leave his point of view.

"I wish I could remember. I feel like I've forgotten even the simplest of things..."


	3. The Autobots

CHAPTER 3

The Autobots

* * *

Some twenty or so cycles later, Starscream heard footsteps approaching his cell, though this time he could hear more than one pair of heavy footsteps. It sounded like three...no, four bots coming his way, one smaller than the others, his pedesteps were slightly lighter than the three others. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but it felt natural somehow.

He saw a group of shadows appear on the wall outside his cell, and seconds later a group of bots, accompanied by the human Leon, appeared in front of his cell. He silently counted them. Two big bots of approximately the same size, one of them being Ironhide, the other being black and white with winglets and red horns on his forehead; one large bot, bigger than the other two, with red and blue armor as well as silver thighs; and a small bot, yellow with black stripes and a pair of yellow horns on his head as well. Four bots in total, just as he had predicted. Interesting.

Starscream heard them talking, but was unsure which voices belonged to whom.

"Can he really not remember anything?" a light-toned voice asked.

"Not sure if he can't remember nothin'," Ironhide's deep voice replied, "but he didn't remember his name."

"Perhaps he's brain-damaged," a voice with a rather blank tone suggested. "That could work fine for us."

"Whatever may be wrong with him," a deep, dark yet soothing voice sounded, "we best be careful. We will have Ratchet take a look at him."

Starscream frowned as he gazed at the four bots. It sounded like they were insulting him, though he wasn't sure how. This fact annoyed him more, making him feel dumb.

"I may not remember much," Starscream said, gaining the bots' attention, "but I do know that it's rather rude to talk about someone while he's right in front of you."

The bots looked at each other before the biggest of them, the red and blue one, spoke, being the one with the soothing voice.

"You are right," he said. "I apologize. Starscream, do you know who we are?"

"I know the red one there is called Ironhide," Starscream replied and studied the other bots. "I don't know the rest of you."

"My name is Optimus Prime," the soothing bot replied. "Leader of the Autobots."

"Autobots?" Starscream repeated in confusion. "I thought we were Transformers."

"We are," Optimus replied patiently. "But we are part of a faction of Transformers called Autobots. You know Ironhide," he added and pointed at Ironhide. "This is Prowl," he said and pointed to the black and white bot with winglets, who nodded with a blank face. "And this is Bumblebee," Optimus added and laid a servo on the small yellow bot's shoulder.

Starscream followed Optimus' servo gestures to each Autobot, taking in their names. "Prowl and Bumblebee," he repeated. "And Optimus Prime. Is that right?"

"Yes," Optimus replied and paused for a moment. "Do you know why you are being held captive here?"

"No," Starscream replied. "I was just minding my own business when I was suddenly attacked by those little screamers, then suddenly I find myself here. Do you know me?"

"We do know you," Optimus replied. "You are Starscream."

"That's my name, I know my name," Starscream replied, starting to get irritated. "I want to know _who_ I am. I want to know who I was before I lost my memories. Because I'm sure I didn't just pop out of nowhere in existence, given the fact you all know my name and seem to know me. So I ask again. _Who am I?_"

The Autobots exchanged glances, unsure if they should tell him.

"We...did not know you very well before," Optimus said, perhaps not entirely true. "We do know your name and that you are a warrior."

"A warrior?" Starscream repeated intrigued. "What's a warrior?"

"Someone who fights," Ironhide replied instead of Optimus. "But perhaps we should get Ratchet to take a look at you. Right, Prime?"

"Right," Optimus replied. "Prowl, go inside and release him."

The Autobots exchanged concerned glances for some reason. "Are you sure it's a good idea to release him, just like that, Prime?" Bumblebee asked concerned.

"We will see," Prime replied. "Do it."

With a blank facial expression, Prowl unlocked the door to Starscream's cell and stepped inside. He went over to Starscream and grabbed one of the chains holding his legs and released it. Starscream watched intently as the Autobot released the other chains holding the other leg and rose to grab the chains holding his left arm.

"I am going to release your arms now," Prowl informed Starscream calmly. "Do not try to attack or escape, understand?"

"Why would I attack you?" Starscream replied. Prowl couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere.

Without further debate, Prowl unlocked the chains to Starscream's left arm and watched it fall to his side. Prowl went to his right side and did the same with the right arm chains. Soon Starscream was free from all chains and restraints and rose to his legs, a bit unstable due to the pain in his torso but soon found his footing. He gazed at Prowl with a raised optical ridge. Prowl laid a servo on the other's shoulder and lead him out of the cell. Starscream looked at the Autobots. They seemed tense somehow.

"Come with us," Optimus said and started walking, followed by Ironhide and Leon. Prowl and Bumblebee walked with Starscream behind the others, watching him from behind. Starscream looked from side to side as they walked through a tunnel of metal and rock, trying to ignore the soreness in his abdomen.

"Where are you taking me?" Starscream asked, a bit concerned.

"To the command center," Optimus replied. "We will find Ratchet there, and he will take a look at you."

Soon the small party arrived in a big room with several other Autobots and humans standing here and there. There were many computers and monitors as well as a higher level of railings for the humans to stand on, and doorways leading to other hallways and rooms. To the right was a large doorway with an advanced framing, lights situated at the top and bottom of the opening. Through it was a road of some sort, but it seemed to end by a wall after mere 15 meters distance. To the left of the room was another similar opening, but it seemed to curve 10 meters ahead, making it uncertain where it lead. Next to that opening was a pair of closed doors, seemingly an elevator of some sort.

As the Autobots in front stepped to the side and Starscream stepped into the command center, all the resident Autobots and humans turned their attention to him. Most had shock painted on their faces, others seemed angry or fearful. Starscream remembered last time he had been met by these reactions, and he lifted his arms as it apparently would signal he was not going to attack.

Instead, however, as Starscream lifted his arms, the same rods from before suddenly appeared from a section in his arms. He flinched by the action, and as he saw several Autobots and humans draw their own strange rods and pointed them at him, he covered his face and lowered his wings, afraid he would be attacked like before. It seemed the gesture he made was seen as a threat rather than a surrender.

But no one fired at him, for the one called Optimus Prime stepped in front of him with his arms spread out to shield Starscream.

"Do not fire," Optimus ordered calmly but sternly. "It is alright. He will not attack. Right, Starscream?" He added the last bit while glancing at the startled Starscream, who dared to peek out from his arms and lowered them, knowing the big Autobot did not want him to get hurt. Starscream nodded, though kept his wings lowered in uncertainty and gazed concerned at the Autobots in the room.

"Ratchet," Optimus said to the white bot with red markings and similar horns to Bumblebee and Prowl, "I want you to take a look at Starscream's processor. His memory chips may be damaged."

The one called Ratchet stepped forward, seemingly more startled by the others' reactions than Starscream's own unintentional threatening gesture. "Come here," he said with a calm voice similar to Prowl's.

Still with downcast wings and a concerned look around, Starscream cautiously stepped forward and followed Ratchet to a small corner in the command center where a pair of tables and a chair stood by a pair of large tubes, centered by a large machine with two monitors and several buttons.

"Sit down in the chair," Ratchet said, and Starscream oblieged silently. "I will induce stasis."

"Stasis?" Starscream repeated. "What's stasis?"

"You will fall asleep," Ratchet explained, unmoved by the other's lack of knowledge, "and I will examine you on the inside. It's a painless procedure."

"Alright," Starscream replied, a bit concerned as he felt the pain in his torso intensify. Some time without pain sounded nice.

Ratchet attached a cable to Starscream's neck from behind and pressed a button. Suddenly Starscream felt really sleepy. He tried to keep his optics open, but the force was too strong and he eventually had to give in. He closed his optics and fell unconscious, still sitting upright in the chair.

* * *

"Laser scalpel," Ratchet said as he stood in position looking at the back of Starscream's helm.

Wheeljack handed over the laser scalpel and watched the doctor work his magic. Most of the other Autobots continued with their own businesses, but Optimus stood and watched with Wheeljack.

Ratchet started by cutting a line in Starscream's helm until the cut piece could be taken off.

"Tweezer," Ratchet ordered and received a tweezer from Wheeljack. He proceeded to grab the helm piece with the tweezer and pulled it off Starscream's head, revealing his brain module.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here..." Ratchet said to himself. "Durabillium drill."

Wheeljack handed over the drill and watched as Ratchet proceeded to turn the drill on, drilling into Starscream's brain module. He made sure not to drill too deep and destroy something. Some of the other Autobots felt a bit uneasy by the sound and images in their minds. As he got to the right place, he stopped the drill and put it down.

"Micro-cam," Ratchet ordered and was handed a rod with a tiny camera at the end of it. He stuck the rod carefully into the hole he had made in Starscream's brain module and began examining him.

After a few nano-cycles, Ratchet sighed. "Dear Primus," he commented. "His memory chips are completely fried. The only intact ones in here are those of communication, motor function and instincts. Everything else is for the scrap yard."

While not a loud comment, it did catch the attention of the other Autobots that weren't watching the operation. They gazed over to the medbay but didn't approach. It wasn't a pretty sight to see a bot sitting in a chair with his head open and a rod in his processor.

"Can they be repaired?" Optimus asked.

"Maybe, but the healing process could take years," Ratchet replied. "We may as well install new memory chips if we had any."

"Is his Spark stable?"

Wheeljack studied the monitors currently linked to Starscream, showing his status. "Spark seems healthy," the engineer answered. "Though the damage to his processor might be serious enough that it's affected his Spark as well. Could take a real long time for him to remember everythin'. Y'know, if we _want_ him to remember. We don't, do we?"

Optimus was silent for a moment. "Having Starscream in our possession provides us a great advantage over Megatron," Prime said, "but I am unsure if it is a good idea to keep his former life a secret from him. He has the right to know."

"He'll just attack us and return to Buckethead at the first chance," Sideswipe commented from the sidelines, having listened to their conversation. "We can't have him return to the 'Cons when we have him like this!"

"I agree with Swipe," Sunstreaker said. "This is a big chance for us, big bot! We have to take it!"

"Just imagine if we could turn him to _our_ side," Bumblebee said with eager. "More air support!"

"Starscream does seem important to Megatron in several ways," Prowl went in. "Without his second-in-command, Megatron is at a disadvantage. Keeping him with us makes sense."

Everyone seemed to agree, both Autobots and humans. The only ones not seeming keen on the idea were Optimus and Ironhide.

"I don't know," Ironhide said. "He could remember on his own if we keep him like this. But if we give him new memory chips..."

"We'd basically have to teach him _everything_ about _everything_," Ratchet informed. "Something we don't have time for. It would prevent him from remembering his place with the Decepticons, yes, but it would also render him useless for a possibly long period of time."

"How about we keep the memory chips of his expertise for repairs," Wheeljack suggested, "and only take out the chips on his bein' a 'Con?"

"Good idea," Ratchet replied sarcastically, "if there was a way to know which memory chips contains what, that is. I can't just remove memory chips at random. But it doesn't matter either way, because we do not have any blank memory chips at the moment. I will have to close him up for now and get him out of stasis. We'll discuss what to do with it at a later date."

"Very well," Optimus replied. "While Ratchet closes him up, the rest of us should discuss what to do with him when he wakes up. He will start asking questions. We need to find out how much to tell him and what we should leave out."

"And which lies we have to tell him," Wheeljack added. "'Cause that's pretty much what we're doin' right now. We can't tell him the truth, so we'll have to come up with somethin'. Any ideas?"

Optimus and the rest of the Autobots aside from Ratchet and Wheeljack walked away from the medbay to discuss Starscream's situation, letting the medic close the former Decepticon up.

"Actually, Ratch," Wheeljack added before Ratchet began to close up, "I think I have an idea..."


	4. Autobot Seeker

CHAPTER 4

Autobot Seeker

* * *

After an uncertain amount of time spent in darkness, Starscream sensed a bright light right in front of him. He blinked and tried to look away, but eventually he opened his optics completely. He saw Ratchet holding a flashlight of some sort, shining light into his optics.

"Good, good," Ratchet said. "Optical function seems intact. Processor function seems stable as well. Starscream, can you hear me?"

"I can hear you just fine," Starscream said annoyed and found that he couldn't move. "Can you please remove whatever's holding me down so I can stand up?"

"I'm not holding you down," Ratchet replied. "You're free to get up."

"I can't move," Starscream informed. "I can barely keep my optics open. I feel...tired."

Ratchet hummed. "When's the last time you refueled?"

"Refueled," Starscream repeated, "on what?"

"On Energon, of course."

"What's Energon?"

Ratchet sighed and disappeared from his view. "It seems like your energy readings are low. Perhaps a lack of Energon has caused you to have limited motor function. I'll be right back, stay put."

"Can't really...go anywhere," Starscream said and struggled to keep his optics open. He wanted to sleep.

"Ey, ey, don't fall asleep," a white Autobot with large audio receptors and winglets said and snapped his digits in front of Starscream's face, waking him up. "May not wake up again in your condition."

Starscream blinked and tried to keep his optics open, all while sitting straight and stiffly in the chair without being able to even turn his head. A pair of small Autobots appeared in front of him, checking him out. They looked identical, aside from the fact that one was red and the other was yellow, both having black helms, arms and legs.

"Mech, he's really out of it, huh?" the red one said to the other.

"Yeah, he looks like he's about to fall over," the yellow one said.

"Ey Sideswipe, Sunstreaker," the white bot said, "leave the patient alone, would'cha?"

"Aw, come on, Wheeljack, we just wanna mess with him a little," the red one, probably Sideswipe, said.

While Wheeljack shooed away Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, Starscream could no longer keep his optics open. He closed them for just a second. When he opened them next, suddenly a lot of Autobots stood and stared at him, some with worried expressions, others with curious looks on their faces. He raised an optical ridge at the sight.

"What?" Starscream said confused. "Why are you all looking at me? Do I have something on my face?"

"Starscream, you had us worried sick," Wheeljack said, seemingly genuinely worried. "You've been out for hours since you woke from Ratch's operation!"

"Out? What do you mean? I just blinked."

"You'd be surprised how easily you can lose consciousness merely by resting your eyes," Ratchet informed him. "Well, your energy levels are returning to normal, at least. But it seems you have a lot of internal damage, some of it seems old. You're more damaged than I thought. What in the name of the AllSpark happened to you?"

"What's the AllSpark?" Starscream asked, his dizziness and exhaustion slowly fading.

"It's where we all go when our Sparks extinguish," Optimus explained.

"...What's a Spark?"

"It's what keeps us alive," Ratchet explained. "It's the culmination of our being, what makes us who we are."

"You guys may want to return to your own stuff," Wheeljack said to the others. "This could take a while."

The other Autobots dispersed and returned to their own corners, some transforming and exiting through the big doorway. Starscream didn't fail to notice this.

"What did he just do?" he asked.

"He transformed," Optimus asked. He, Ratchet and Wheeljack were the only staying at the medbay with Starscream. "It is something we Transformers are naturally able to do."

"Can I transform too?"

"Yes. You turn into a jet."

"A jet? That's something that can fly, right?"

"It is."

Starscream silenced for a bit, seemingly thinking. "You told me before that I was a warrior. What kind of warrior was I?"

"You are something we call a Seeker," Optimus replied. "A warrior that excels in aerial combat and searching for targets from the sky."

"Seeker," Starscream repeated. "I'm a Seeker. That's right. I'm good at flying. But...how do I fly?"

"You'll find out when you've recovered enough," Ratchet replied. "Until then, you stay here."

Starscream's gaze fell on his arms. "What were those things that came out of my arms?" he asked. "Those long rod things that keeps making others attack me?"

"Those are guns," Wheeljack explained. "Specifically, yours are called null-ray cannons. They're used for combat, to attack and protect yourself from your enemies."

"Who are my enemies?"

Optimus made little hesitation in answering him. "Megatron."

"What's a Megatron?" Starscream asked.

"Not what," Wheeljack corrected, "_who_. Megatron's the leader of the Decepticons. He hates you."

"He hates me?" Starscream repeated confused. "Why?"

"Good question. But every time you two meet, he beats you to scrap and blows you to pieces."

"Blows me to pieces?!" Starscream exclaimed in horror. "I don't like this mech at all! Have I ever won in a battle against him?"

"Nope," Wheeljack continued. "He always makes scrap out of you, but you keep coming back and you keep trying to beat him. And every time you fail."

Starscream looked at the floor, starting to shudder. He didn't know why, he had never met the mech before, yet he was already trembling in fear. Perhaps the memory of his apparent fear of this Megatron was too strong to have been erased from the Seeker's processor.

"Did he do this to me?" Starscream asked silently, perhaps more to himself than the others, regaining control of his shuddering. "Is he powerful?"

"Very powerful," Optimus replied. "I am surprised you are still alive after all this time. We have not seen you for months. We thought Megatron may have finished you off for good."

"Months?" Starscream repeated concerned. "I've been gone for months? I..."

Starscream silenced as something appeared in his mind. His pupils narrowed as the image of a horrid face appeared in front of him for a split second. He let out a shriek as stings of pain appeared in his head and chest and clutched his servos on those parts. The Autobots perked to attention by the scream, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker drawing forth their weapons, but Optimus spread his arms out to calm everyone down.

"Starscream, are you alright?" Optimus asked as everyone seemed to calm down.

"Are you in pain?" Ratchet asked and was about to take forth his tools to examine him again.

Starscream huffed as the pain subsided. "Just a stinging," he replied. "I'm fine. I'm better now, actually."

Removing his servo from his head, he instead grabbed the large cable on his chest and pulled it off without permission. He then proceeded to pull off the other cables and wires attached to him.

"Hey, I didn't say you could take those off," Ratchet scolded, but only made a halfsparked attempt to stop him.

Eventually Starscream was free and rose onto his pedes, unsteady at first but after taking a few steps, he regained his balance. No one tried to stop him, but Wheeljack held his arms forth in case he were to fall down, as he was still limping a bit.

"Easy there," Wheeljack said. "Take it easy."

"I want to fly," Starscream said. "I can fly, right? I want to go fly."

"You can't fly yet," Ratchet said and was already pushing the Seeker back to the medbay. "You're not in shape yet to be doing something as complicated as flying. You need to rest for at least a few hours first, maybe even a day."

Starscream huffed in annoyance but oblieged. As he sat back down in the chair, he took notice of the red face on Ratchet's shoulder, right above his pulse marking.

"What's that symbol you have on you?" Starscream asked, having noticed all the Autobots had the same symbol.

Ratchet followed his gaze and looked at the symbol. "Oh that. That's the Autobot insignia," he explained. "It shows that I'm an Autobot."

Starscream hummed and turned his gaze to his wings. He stiffened as he saw similar red symbols on them, in the same face shape as the Autobots'.

"I could have sworn those were purple..." Starscream mumbled to himself, then turned back to Ratchet. "It seems I have them too. Does that mean I'm an Autobot too?"

The Autobots shared brief gazes, not answering right away.

"Yes," Wheeljack answered. "You're one 'a us. You're an Autobot Seeker."

"Autobot Seeker," Starscream repeated, thinking about the word. "So I'm your warrior of the sky?"

"Uh-huh," Wheeljack replied.

"But you said before you hadn't seen me for months," Starscream continued after thinking. "And you thought Megatron had finished me off for good. Did I disappear?"

Again the Autobots shared glances before answering.

"Last time we saw you," Optimus explained, "you engaged in combat against Megatron. You took off with him to battle somewhere else. He was the only one to return. We all assumed he had terminated you."

Starscream listened intently to their explanation and thought. Something seemed odd, though he wasn't sure what.

"Why didn't you look for me?" the Seeker asked suspiciously. "You said I had come back before, several times. Why not check if I was still alive somewhere?"

"We _did_ look for you," Ironhide went in. "But we couldn't find you anywhere, couldn't track you anywhere. So we just assumed the worst."

Starscream hummed. Something still didn't seem right. Suddenly it came to him.

"You told me you didn't know me very well before," Starscream said. "But if I'm part of your faction, shouldn't you know me, like you know everyone in here?"

Optimus and the others shared glances yet again. Starscream wasn't sure if the sharing-glances thing was part of how bots explained things to one another, but it was beginning to irritate him a bit. He felt like they were hiding something from him.

"It wasn't a lie," Prowl went in, not having said anything since the Seeker woke up. "We don't know you very well because you aren't stationed here. You were stationed in a different base, on a different continent. We Autobots know each other by name and looks, but we know those we are teamed up with better than the rest."

Starscream hummed, contemplating the explanation. As he couldn't remember anything, whatever they told him could very well be true. He wasn't certain why he doubted their trustworthiness. Though there was still one more thing that bothered him.

"When I woke up earlier," Starscream began, "after I lost my memories, out in the desert, I saw something on my wings. They looked similar to these Autobot symbols, but they were purple and in a different shape. Why would they look like that?"

"You had been pretty low on energy and Energon," Ratchet explained, "as well as having sustained heavy internal damage. That, combined with the typical heat of the desert, likely caused you to hallucinate."

"Hallucinate?" Starscream repeated. "What's that?"

"It means you see somethin' that isn't there," Wheeljack explained instead. "Or you see things different from what they actually look like."

"Huh." Starscream racked his processor, still not completely convinced by these Autobots' explanations. He finally remembered why. "If I'm an Autobot, one of you bots...then why did you lock me up? Why did you attack me? Why were you _ready_ to attack me?"

The Autobots once again shared glances and went silent for a while, probably longer than Starscream would have liked. He knew something was wrong, he just needed to press on until one of them slipped and he would know the truth. So far, though, he couldn't determine whether they were being truthful or not.

"You...were acting oddly last time we met you," Optimus decided to explain. "And perhaps we had forgotten about you during these many months of your absence. Last time we saw you, you had not been so...mangled. We were being cautious, until we found out it was you."

"And my team here's pretty much all Grounders," Ironhide explained. "The others were probably just a bit surprised to see a Flier like you in our base."

"Grounders? Fliers?" Starscream repeated. "What are those?"

"Fliers can fly," Wheeljack explained. "Grounders can't. Simple as it sounds."

"Right," Starscream replied, feeling stupid for asking. "So you bots were surprised to see me and cautious of me because you forgot who I was, is that it?"

"That's right," Ironhide replied.

"You remembered my name though," Starscream pressed. "So did that screamer there," he added, his gaze falling on Leon, standing on the floor next to Optimus Prime. "Yet still they attacked me. I find that odd, considering I am one of you. I _am_ one of you, aren't I?"

The bots gazed between each other and Leon. They seemed to be getting a bit nervous, at least that's what it looked like to Starscream. Now they were bound to slip.

"The general human population isn't really aware of your existence," Leon explained with his low human voice. "And, like the others said, we don't know you very well. We thought you were going to attack us when your guns appeared on your arms. I misjudged you, and my misjudgement cost me the lives of several of my men. I can't say I like you for doing that, but I suppose I'm the one to blame. I won't apologize to you though, as you can imagine."

Starscream squinted his optics as the human explained. "Imagine what? Why won't you apologize to me?"

Leon and the Autobots seemed to stiffen, apparently surprised by his response. Leon's surpise quickly turned to anger.

"I won't apologize to you because you killed my men!" the human snarled.

"What's kill?" Starscream asked.

They fell silent. They stared perplexed at him.

"You don't even remember the concept of killing?" Ratchet remarked with concern. "Or death? Life?"

"Death? Life?"

They fell silent once again, perhaps considering how to explain to him.

"We are all alive right now," Optimus explained. "We all stand here, conscious, breathing, our Sparks beating. As long as our Sparks beat, we are alive. But when our Sparks extinguish, we die, and we do not come back to life."

"Most of the time, anyway," Wheeljack added silently to himself.

"What happens when you die?" Starscream asked intrigued.

"You cease to exist," Leon explained, apparently having calmed down. "You can't do anything, everything is darkness, like falling asleep and never waking up."

Starscream seemed to stiffen by the explanation.

"Probably not the best way to phrase it, Leon," Ironhide commented to the human. "Now he'll never go to recharge."

Starscream didn't seem to dwell on the poor explanation though. Instead he seemed to be thinking.

"And I did that to those screamers?" Starscream asked. "When I swiped, and my servos turned red, did I kill those screamers?"

Leon and the Autobots seemed to frown a bit by his question, probably angry over Starscream calling the humans 'screamers', as if he meant to insult them. They knew he didn't know better though, so they tried to calm themselves before answering.

"Yes," Optimus replied as the first, being the best at holding back his emotions. "You killed humans, albeit by accident, I hope."

"I don't know why I did what I did," Starscream said darkly. "When those screamers fired their guns, something in me just...clicked. Then I suddenly found my servos stained red. Why did that happen?"

"We humans have blood in us," Leon replied, trying his best to keep control of his emotions. "It keeps our bodies going. We bleed when we get wounded."

Starscream hummed. "Interesting," he said with little care for the meaning. "Do I have blood in me too?"

"No, you have Energon in you," Ratchet explained, trying to be patient with the ignorant Seeker. "All Transformers have Energon flowing through our bodies to keep us functioning. Without it, we can't function, and eventually our Sparks extinguish."

"And then we die," Starscream added in conclusion. "That's right. Our Sparks keep us alive, and Energon keeps us functioning. Why have I forgotten such simple facts?"

"Your memory chips are completely fried," Ratchet decided to explain. "It appears you have forgotten almost everything aside from basic speech and motor function as well as your instincts. Have you remembered anything on your own?"

"I remembered the desert and the tanks on my own," Starscream replied. "While I was in that cell. I also remember flying...but I'm not sure _how_ I'm supposed to fly. And there are...other things. Things I feel I should know but I don't. I can't really explain it."

Ratchet hummed. "Well, the fact that you remembered things on your own means that at least you'll be able to remember things as time goes. Rest for now, and tomorrow, if you've recovered enough, I will allow you to leave. Perhaps then we can see if you remember how to fly and fight."

Starscream looked intently at the medic and the other Autobots. "Alright," he replied. "Where do I rest? In the cell?"

"No, remain here in the medbay," Ratchet replied. "You can sleep on the table over here. And this time, keep the cables on! If you take them off again before I approve, your recovery will only take longer."

Starscream rose from the chair and limped his way over to one of the two tables and laid down. Before he went to recharge, he had one last question.

"Where am I, exactly?" Starscream asked, looking at Optimus.

Optimus hesitated for a moment before he responded. "You wandered into one of our secret bases," Optimus replied. "You are currently in Metroplex City."


	5. Energy and Energon

CHAPTER 5

Energy and Energon

* * *

The first sleep Starscream had since he lost his memories - real sleep, not simply losing consciousness due to stasis or attacks to the head and what not - was not pleasant. He fell into recharge some ten minutes after laying down and went to the world of darkness. After an uncertain amount of time, he had a nightmare.

He was standing in the middle of a desert in the middle of the night, surrounded by mesas but otherwise empty.

Except he wasn't alone.

Looking straight ahead, he noticed a figure in the far distance about a kilometer away, a mere silhouette, but large and looming. Somehow, Starscream knew that this figure would kill him if it spotted him.

Just after thinking that, the figure turned and stared at Starscream with its menacingly glowing red eyes. Barely a second later, it set into running towards him.

Starscream immediately turned and started running himself. He found his body having become incredibly heavy, making him run very slowly, and the heavy weight made him quickly exhausted.

But he couldn't stop running. The creature would kill him if it caught up to him. But even when putting all his strength into his legs, he barely moved more than a couple of meters every second. Looking back, his persuader was catching up to him, moving much more quickly and effortlessly than him, despite having started out with being more than a kilometer away.

Starscream turned his head back forward, searching desperately for a place to hide or escape to. But there was no escape. There was no hiding place. All he could do was keep running, getting slower and slower as his energy levels dropped more and more.

A few seconds later, Starscream turned his head back again to see how far the monster had come. He only just managed to turn all the way back before he was knocked down by the figure, falling onto his back.

Looking up, Starscream stared with terror at the monster looming above him. It was bipedal, somewhat boxy, with something situated on its right arm. It was entirely black like a silhouette, making it impossible to make out detail. The only part he could really make out were its eyes. They were small, red, glowing and menacingly, with the gleam of a killer, staring down at the helpless Seeker.

Starscream opened his mouth to scream, but no sound escaped.

The monster lifted its right arm.

A bright white light with a violet tint appeared from the protrusion on the arm, aimed at Starscream's head.

There was a sound.

A bright flash.

Starscream sat up with a start and let out a shriek.

He let out fast vents as he looked around in the darkness.

He was in the command center. In the medbay, where he had fallen asleep.

"Ugh...what was that...?" Starscream grumbled to himself as he put a servo to his chest, while trying to slow his venting.

"I suppose you were having a nightmare," a gruff voice sounded.

Starscream flinched by the voice and looked around. His gaze fell on a small bot leaning against the wall by the entrance to the rocky tunnel. The bot was solid red and had horns similar to several other Autobots he had met during the day.

"A nightmare?" Starscream repeated. "What's that?"

"A bad dream," the bot explained, not sounding particularly pleased. "When you sleep, your processor sometimes shows you your biggest fears, in the form of nightmares."

"My biggest fears," Starscream repeated with dread. "It felt so real."

"Dreams do that," the bot said. "Especially nightmares. Not very uncommon these days, with the war going on and everything."

There was silence for a while, while Starscream regained control of his venting. "What's your name?" he asked the bot. "I don't think I got your name."

"Cliffjumper," the bot replied. "My friends call me Cliff. So don't call me Cliff."

Starscream frowned a bit, but didn't comment further. "Why is it so dark in here now?" he asked instead.

"Lights are out for the night," Cliffjumper replied. "The others are asleep. I'm on nightwatch tonight. Keeping lookout in case something happens."

"Like an attack?"

"Exactly like an attack."

Starscream hummed. "How long was I out?"

"Time's a little past one in the morning, so probably only about four hours. Go back to sleep, you need it."

Starscream laid back down on his back. "I don't know if I want to go back to sleep. What if the nightmare returns?"

"I'll wake you if you have another one. Go back to sleep."

Starscream hesitated for a little over a minute before he shifted so he was lying on his side, facing against the wall, letting his wings have more space. They felt a bit stiff. Perhaps lying on his back wasn't a good way to sleep.

"Are you still there, Cliffjumper?" Starscream asked after two minutes of staring at the dark wall, trying to relax.

"I'm still here," Cliffjumper's voice sounded. "I'm not going anywhere. So go back to sleep."

Despite the darkness, Cliffjumper could make out the gentle flapping of Starscream's wings in response. Starscream didn't engage further in conversation. The wings flapped gently on occasion, having space enough for it. It took about twenty minutes before the wings stopped flapping and Starscream had fallen back asleep.

* * *

Starscream didn't stir for the rest of the night, staying asleep until eight in the morning. Despite having fallen asleep at nine in the evening the previous day, the nightmare intervention cut down his energy levels, leaving him with only about seven hours worth of rest. Just enough to cut it.

When Starscream woke, the command center was no longer covered in darkness, but instead lit up like it had been the evening before. He heard muffled voices talking in the background, optics still closed. Despite having regained consciousness, he was still tired and kept his optics closed, just to gain a bit more rest. His wings flapped gently behind him, though without him really intending to. They seemed to have a mind of their own, those wings.

Their movement did not go unnoticed.

"Are you awake?" Ratchet's voice sounded behind the Seeker.

Starscream opened his optics into slits, slightly startled by the loud voice. He groaned and stretched his legs out over the table he was lying on, arching his back and making a cracking sound. Tension left his frame as the crack sounded, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Starscream shifted and sat up, legs hanging off the table. He stretched his arms out and felt the stiffness leaving his frame. After stretching, he rubbed his optics to wake them up as well, before focusing on Ratchet standing before him, waiting for him to finish.

"Good morning, Starscream," Ratchet greeted stone-faced.

"Good morning, Ratchet," Starscream replied, still rubbing an optic and then paused. "That's a greeting, right?"

"It is, good to know you still remember that much," Ratchet replied and took out his tools. "Now, let's have a look at you. Slept well?"

"Somewhat," Starscream replied as Ratchet started running a scanner across his frame. "I had a... nightmare, though, I think it was called. Still tired."

Ratchet hummed. "Sorry to hear that," Ratchet replied and brought out a small hammer to check Starscream's reflexes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Starscream contemplated for a moment, while his leg bounced at the touch by the hammer. More focused on what Ratchet was doing, he took a while before remembering the question. "I'm not sure how to explain it," he replied after ten seconds. "I don't really remember it very well."

Which of course wasn't true. He remembered it very well. But he didn't want them to know what he had seen. For he wasn't very sure what it had been. But he didn't want them to know his fears or weaknesses, despite the possibility that they knew both better than he did at the moment.

"Fine," Ratchet simply replied and put the hammer away, shining a light into Starscream's optics, which followed it and narrowed. "Well, you seem to be recovering well, despite your injuries, so you should be able to leave the medbay soon. Then we'll get you a real berth to sleep on. Should help with the nightmares."

"I hope so," Starscream replied quietly. "Will I be able to leave the medbay today?"

"Possibly," Ratchet replied. "I'd wait a few more hours though. Your internal injuries seem to have healed quite a lot throughout the night, in fact I may even go as far as to say they've completely healed. But you should still rest for at least two more hours just to be sure. There still seems to be a lot of scars left on your armor though. They may heal in time, maybe they won't. They're just superficial though, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Having finished checking Starscream over, Ratchet stood up and put his tools away.

"Do I still have to keep these cables on?" Starscream asked, hoping he didn't.

Ratchet hummed and contemplated for a moment. "Yes," he replied. "I want to make sure the med-grade heals your wounds completely, both on the inside and on the outside."

Starscream raised an orbital ridge. "Med-grade?" he repeated. "What's that?"

"Med-grade is a form of Energon," Ratchet explained. "Specifically, it's been modified to be used as a medicine, to heal. It is used on wounded or sick bots. Like you, at the moment."

Starscream hummed. "How many kinds of Energon are there?" he asked.

"There are at least four ways you can modify Energon. There's med-grade which you already know about. Then there's low-grade, which is a fairly harmless and stable form of Energon, but doesn't provide much energy. There's mid-grade, which is the general kind of Energon we fuel on, gives a good amount of energy and generally stable but still more unstable than low-grade. And finally, there's high-grade, which provides lots of energy but is also pretty unstable compared to the other two kinds. Unstable meaning it is susceptible to lower temperatures than the mid-grade and low-grade, and if it comes into contact with high enough temperature, it will explode."

Starscream widened his optics in surprise. "Energon explodes? Why do we fuel on it then?"

"Because it is what we're made of, it's what keeps us going, so we have to fuel on it. Though there are two kinds of Energon we can fuel on, Natural Blue or Artificial Pink. Both are unstable in raw or refined form, but Artifical Pink tends to be easier to acquire."

"Why's that?"

"Natural Blue Energon is found as crystals, but they are scarce on this planet as well as on Cybertron. When they come in contact with heat they explode and turn into clouds. At some point these clouds will condensate into rain, and this liquid Energon will then gather in puddles or seep into crevices in the ground and stay underground. Eventually the puddles will crystallize and make new Energon crystals, but this process takes years, and gathering the Energon up from the puddles is extremely difficult and time consuming, and time is something we don't have enough of these days.

As such, we resort to creating Energon artificially, by using special cubes to absorb natural raw energy from the environment, such as heat, gas, friction, wind, water and radiation. This raw energy is then converted into a liquid pink Energon, ready to be used. If this Energon explodes or is expended through venting and ammo, it doesn't turn into clouds like Natural Blue, instead it returns to the form of energy it was originally found in. So the energy doesn't disappear, but instead turns into something else, and once it has met its use, it is returned to the environment. The Absorption Cubes are difficult to make, but hard to break so once they are made, Energon is easy to acquire and spend. The Energon we consume changes the color of the Energon flowing in our frames, so we may have blue or pink Energon depending on our fuel, or sometimes the color is a mix of the two if one regularly fuels on both."

Starscream listened intrigued to Ratchet's explanation on Energon. "How often do we have to refuel?" he asked as Ratchet finished his explanation.

"It depends on the individual bot's situation," Ratchet replied. "During wartime, Energon is expended quickly on ammo and healing wounds, so refueling is needed at least once a week, in active periods more than that. During peacetime, Energon was only expended through venting and whatever one's abilities allowed them to do their jobs, so bots could go without Energon well over a week. Growing Sparklings need to refuel at least twice every day, since the Energon goes to working on their frames."

Starscream perked at that. "Sparklings? What are those?"

"Young Transformers who haven't started transforming yet. Sparklings are created through Forging or interfacing, though Forging is the more normal way of doing it." Before Starscream could ask, Ratchet continued: "Forging is when Sparks appear from hot spots on Cybertron, summoned by the supercomputer Vector Sigma. These Sparks are then harvested and they start to develop Sentio Metallico to shape their bodies. After a few hours, the Sentio Metallico becomes a functional Protoform capable of movement but relatively helpless. Most Protoforms are fully developed with a functioning frame and capable of transforming within three weeks, but sometimes they grow slower and may take months or even years to be fully developed and grown up. In this case we call them Sparklings."

Starscream hummed at the information given. "So what's interfacing?" he asked, noting Ratchet hadn't explained that.

Ratchet hesitated before answering. "It's an action between two bots who like each other very much. Very, very much. It's not something you just do with anyone, though. It's reserved for someone special."

"Someone special?" Starscream asked curiously. "How do I know if someone's special?"

"You will feel it in your Spark," Ratchet explained, the best he could. "You will feel a need to be with that someone, you miss them every time you're apart, and when you are together, you are either very happy or very nervous."

"Happy or nervous?" Starscream repeated confused. "That doesn't make sense at all."

"Maybe you'll find out eventually, maybe you won't," Ratchet replied. "Only you will know when you have found someone special. And you won't doubt it when it happens. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go somewhere else."

Starscream was about to stop the medic, but Ratchet had already left the medbay. Starscream sat back alone and thought about the information he had been given.


	6. Puzzles

CHAPTER 6

Puzzles

* * *

Starscream thought about what to do the next two hours before he would be allowed to leave the medbay and try flying. He looked around mere minutes after Ratchet had left him on his own, checking if there was anything nearby he could occupy himself with. Finding nothing, he looked down at his talons and rubbed the sharp edges. They seemed to function as weapons just like his weird arm guns. They were currently tucked inside his arms, apparently only appearing when he lifted his arms in a specific way. He wondered if it was the same for the other bots as well.

Still fidgeting with his talons, Starscream subconsciously started tapping the floor with his pede. Ratchet said he should stay in the medbay, but he hadn't told him to just sit still. Perhaps he could at least stand up and walk around a bit? He decided against it, as the medbay was very small, and those cables attached to him, while hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the semi-room, would probably still get tangled up on him.

Still, it was hard for him to sit still for some reason. He wanted to get up and pace around, not just sit still and think in silence. He had a strong urge to go outside, his wings flapped demandingly behind him, he wanted to go fly. Despite not really remembering how to fly, his instinct told him he needed to fly. Being trapped inside this small command center, not to mention this even smaller medbay with limited room, it felt wrong to him.

He looked up at the ceiling, suddenly getting a bit dizzy over how close it was to him. He looked from side to side, seeing just how small the room he was in was, how close the walls were to him. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but it almost looked like the walls and ceiling were getting closer. His venting started to grow faster, panic rising in him.

Starscream shook his head and looked up and around him again. The room hadn't shrunk at all. It had just been his imagination.

Having shaken off the strange panic, Starscream looked out of the medbay to the rest of the command center - well, as much of the command center as he could see, anyway. There weren't a lot of bots present, from what he could see and hear. It didn't seem like there were any humans either. No one currently present seemed to pay him any mind.

"Morning, Starscream," a small familiar voice sounded below him.

Starscream automatically looked down and saw the girl called Amy standing in front of him by his pedes. Now he noticed just how small she was. She was barely as tall as his pede was long. She could probably fit in his servo.

"What are you doing here?" Starscream replied quietly. "Do you live here with the Autobots?"

"Not really," Amy replied with the same smile she always seemed to wear. "I live in the city above this base. I saw you getting caught by those army guys and I followed. I hid myself from their sight until they locked you up in the dungeon and left you alone. Then I went into your cell."

Starscream hummed and raised an orbital ridge. "Why did you want to speak with me?" he asked curiously.

"Those guys thought you were dangerous, and you did kill some of them," Amy's smile finally seemed to fall for a moment, but it was quickly back, wider than ever. "But I think you're pretty. I wanted to get to know you. Red, blue and white are my favorite colors."

Again Starscream raised an orbital ridge. "You're wearing pink though. Also, I'm silver, not white. Or, maybe I am white. I'm not sure."

"How about silver-white?" Amy suggested with a grin. "That way, everyone wins." She giggled.

Starscream sneered, not sure if he should find her funny or annoying.

"You're strange, little one," Starscream commented. "At least that's the feeling I get. I feel like your approach isn't normal."

"I guess not," Amy said and shrugged, starting to walk away. "Most people are scared when they see guys like you. I don't know why, I think you're all pretty cool. Even those Decepticons, even if they are bad guys."

Just before she left the medbay, she paused and looked back at Starscream with a crooked smile.

"Also, my dress is pink because it's my fourth favorite color," she said and started moving again. "Well, gotta go. See ya later!"

Starscream didn't try to stop her. He simply watched her go, until he couldn't see her anymore. It almost seemed like she vanished into thin air, that's how quickly she went into hiding. She was good.

Starscream sighed and returned to fidgeting and tapping his pede on the floor having nothing else to do.

* * *

An hour had passed since Starscream woke up, followed by Ratchet's examination of the Seeker and explaining about Energon and Sparklings, Amy's reappearance and then forty minutes of nothing but fidgeting, tapping on the floor, rocking back and forth, trying to ignore the feeling of the walls and ceiling closing in on him. He had considered calling one of the Autobots just to have someone to talk to, but for some reason found himself unable to make the call. So he just sat and waited for someone to take an interest to him, only occupying himself with his servos and pedes.

But not knowing how much time had passed was driving him bolts. After an hour, his tapping on the floor evolved into stomps, first careful, but then louder as there was no response. Still no response, he started ramming his elbow into the wall behind him, trying to make as loud noises as he could.

Eventually someone did enter the medbay to see what the commotion was about. The bot entering was Ironhide.

"What in Tarnation are you doing?" Ironhide asked annoyed.

"How much time has passed?" Starscream asked impatiently.

"What are you talking about?"

"How much time has passed since I woke up?"

"I don't know, I just got back from patrol."

Starscream sighed annoyed. "I'm bored. Do you bots have anything I can do while I'm waiting for Ratchet to say I can go outside?"

Ironhide didn't answer him right away, instead he was thinking.

"You'll probably have ta speak to Wheeljack for that," Ironhide finally said. "He's the engineer and probably knows more than I do. I'll get him fer you, if you want me to, that is?"

"Sure, why not," Starscream replied, starting to fidget again. "But make it quick."

Ironhide sighed and turned away from the medbay. "Could say _please_, at least," he mumbled before he left Starscream's hearing range.

Starscream didn't think about anything, simply sat and waited, trying to stop his fidgeting. He managed to stop and sit still for about ten seconds before he started swinging his legs again. He felt nothing like he did yesterday, except for the lack of memories, of course, but he was starting to remember a few things, as well as learning some other things. Those things were mere basics though, he still had not remembered anything about himself yet.

Other than the lack of memories, he felt completely different from yesterday. Rather than exhausted, he was now wide awake, instead of sluggish, he was full of energy and ready to expend it. Finding himself unable to expend that energy the way he was apparently intended to - through flying - he had no choice but to fidget and swing his legs to let out just a little bit of that energy. Even pacing would have been better. But sitting still for so long with nothing to do, it was beginning to stress him out. Not a lot, but it still irritated him quite a lot.

It only took a few minutes before the bot called Wheeljack appeared in the medbay. Ironhide had elected not to return with him.

"Ironhide said you needed me?" Wheeljack asked.

"Ratchet told me to stay in the medbay for a few more hours before I can go outside," Starscream informed the engineer. "But I don't know how much time has passed since then. I don't even know what time it was when I woke up. So now I'm bored and I have nothing to do for a long time. Ironhide said you could help me with that."

Starscream continued to rub his servos while talking to Wheeljack, his gaze shifting between Wheeljack and his talons.

Wheeljack listened to Starscream's plea and thought on it. "Well, Ironhide was right to suggest me," he said after a few nano-cycles. "I think I have just the thing, hang on a moment."

Wheeljack reached behind his back and pulled something out. Then another thing out. Then a third thing. Every thing he pulled out, he put on the small mobile table between the two operating tables, where Ratchet put his tools when in use. Starscream stared in wonder.

"How do you do that?" Starscream asked curious as Wheeljack pulled a fourth item out from seemingly nowhere.

Wheeljack paused as he put the item down. "Do what?" he asked.

Starscream made gestures. "You know, the thing where you pull something out of your back. How do you do that?"

Wheeljack was silent for a few seconds, then realized what he meant. "Ohhhh, that. Yeah, that's just my subspace. All Transformers have 'em. It's a small dimensional pocket that allows us ta store items without havin' ta take up space on our bodies."

Starscream hummed in fascination. "Can anything fit in there?"

"That depends on the bot. Optimus for example can fit his entire trailer in there, but, well, he's Prime, so he probably has a bigger subspace than the rest of us. Most of us can't really fit anythin' larger than ourselves in there though. Some can store bots, though they have ta have special subspaces to do that. I think Swindle has one 'a those."

"Who's Swindle?" Starscream asked.

"He's one 'a the 'Cons," Wheeljack replied. "A Combaticon, to be exact. Never trust that guy, he lies like a...well, like a liar. And swindles, deceives, he's a real 'Con."

Starscream tried to follow, but Wheeljack's explanation didn't make a lot of sense to him. He frowned at the poor explanation. "I don't get it," he simply said.

Wheeljack shrugged. "Eh, doesn't matter. You shouldn't trust any Decepticon, they will lie to you and deceive you, maybe beat you up a little bit, and they may also capture you against your will. That ain't what we Autobots do though. We're the good guys. Just so you know."

Starscream rolled his eyes. "I've heard this already. Now, what are those things you pulled out?"

Wheeljack facepalmed. "Right, those. Here," he said and handed something over to Starscream. "Try to get these apart."

Starscream studied the thing in his servos. It was a pair of small metal rods bending in strange ways. They seemed to be locked together, but at the end of each rod, there was just a tiny opening between the tips and the main body of the rods. Apparently, they were supposed to come apart somehow. Should be easy enough.

Starscream started moving one rod towards the hole on the other rod, but found the hole was too small for the rod to pass through, probably why they were so well locked together. He turned the rods so both openings were going towards each other. Only, he found that the physique of the rods prevented the holes from passing through each other. Starscream hummed and looked at Wheeljack, who still stood and watched for some reason.

Before Starscream could ask, Wheeljack spoke. "It's called a metal puzzle," he explained. "All four, wait..." He pulled another item out of his subspace and placed it on the table. "All five of these items are metal puzzles. You have to find a way to get them apart without using brute force, and once they're apart, you have to put them back together again. It's a way to exercise your processor and a good way to keep yourself occupied for some time."

Wheeljack backed off, seemingly ready to leave. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I'll go ask Ratchet what time you woke up, but otherwise I'll be in the command center. Holler if you need more puzzles."

"Holler?" Starscream repeated confused.

"Yell, shout, exclaim, call," Wheeljack listed. "You know what I mean. Call me if you need me."

And with that, Wheeljack left the medbay, and Starscream was alone once again.

Alone, but no longer unoccupied.

His attention returned to the puzzle in his servos, and got started, no longer fidgeting or even moving his legs or wings. All focus was on the tiny metal rods, all concentration into getting them apart without using brute force.

After several minutes, he finally managed to get the rods apart. His lips parted to form a smile at his small victory. Then the smile faltered as he remembered he had to put it back together again. Gazing at the other four pairs of puzzles, he decided to put the free rods down for later, instead picking up the next pair of rods to solve.

The second pair was pretty easy to take apart, as both rods were the same shape and required a simple move to get them apart. It was so simple, he immediately put it back together, then took it apart and put it back together again. After doing that a few times, he put the reunited rods back on the table and went with the third puzzle.

The third pair of rods was difficult at first, but once he found out how to solve it, putting it back together and taking it apart again was pretty easy. He put it back together and put it on the table with the other two solved puzzles and turned to the fourth puzzle.

This puzzle was significantly harder than the first one, and it took several minutes to take it apart, seemingly at random, and Starscream had no idea what he had done, so putting it back together would probably be even harder than the first one would be.

So instead he put the seperated rods on the table and turned to the last puzzle. This one consisted of two rods and a ring trapped at the bottom. The rods didn't seem able to come apart despite being movable, so it must have been the ring he was supposed to remove. This puzzle was also hard, though he eventually figured out to move both rods and then move the ring along the rods, then turn the rods again and move the ring further, until finally the ring was free.

Starscream held the ring for a moment of triumph, studying it. It was shiny and gray like the rest of the rods, but unlike the other puzzle pieces it didn't have an opening on its metal ends. They were completely closed, making it a legitimate ring.

As Starscream looked through the hole in the ring, suddenly something appeared in the middle of it. The texture of the walls and machinery in front of him seemed to make out a face, and a rather ominous one at that. The ring seemed to make out its head, some buttons became eyes and teeth, other buttons and crevices made out detailing he hadn't seen before but which looked familiar for some reason.

Suddenly he felt a sting of pain in his head and chest, just like he had the evening before. He put down the ring on the table and grabbed his helm and chest, whilst cringing and groaning, though without screaming this time. After a few seconds of agony, the pain subsided. Starscream vented and slowly removed his servos, first from his chest and then from his head.

What was that face he had seen? And why did he suddenly get such a surge of pain, seemingly at random? Perhaps Ratchet was right, he wasn't fully recovered yet and not fit for flying yet. Though he wasn't sure what required him to be 'fit for flying' as he couldn't exactly remember how to fly. All he knew was that he wanted to fly, he _needed_ to fly.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Starscream returned his attention to the seperated puzzles, working on putting them back together again, waiting for Ratchet or Wheeljack to return.


	7. Flight

CHAPTER 7

Flight

* * *

Starscream had spent a little over half an hour solving the metal puzzles and putting them back together, when Ratchet returned to check on him, despite it not having been two full hours yet. Starscream had sat looking at the puzzles for about a minute contemplating if he should solve them again when the medic arrived, gaining his attention.

"Has it been two hours yet?" Starscream asked immediately.

"Not entirely," Ratchet admitted, "but it doesn't have to be exactly two hours. I'm just going to check if you've recovered enough to fly."

"Okay," Starscream replied, letting Ratchet examine him with the scanner and other instruments. It took only a few minutes before Ratchet finished examining the Seeker.

"Still a few scratches on your armor," Ratchet commented, "but otherwise you seem to have fully recovered. Your energy levels also seem to be pretty high, which is good."

Starscream emphasized the last statement by swinging his legs in anticipation, waiting for the doctor's approval. As he seemed to take too long to give it though, Starscream decided to ask instead.

"Does this mean I can go fly now?" Starscream asked impatiently.

Ratchet hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "I suppose I can't hold you back any longer," he replied. "I still want you to take it easy though. If you feel dizzy or faint, or any pain at all, cease flying immediately and return here so I can check on you."

"Okay, I get it," Starscream replied with an eyeroll. "Just take off these things."

Without further comment, Ratchet carefully removed each cable from Starscream's body, at least more careful than Starscream had been the evening before. He started with the dozen small cables placed on his arms, legs, wings, head and several places on his abdomen and back. Once they were all off, he pulled off the big cable attached to his chest, just above his cockpit, having stabilized his Spark. It required a bit more force to pull it off, but not too much and soon Starscream was free from all cables and made no hesitation in standing up right away. Standing up too fast made him a bit dizzy though, and he almost fell down. The dizziness disappeared after a few seconds though.

Ratchet didn't fail to notice Starscream swaying a bit as he stood up. "Yes, you don't want to do that," he commented. "I just told you to take it easy, that goes for standing up as well."

Starscream scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me," he grumbled as the dizziness was entirely gone. Without further conversation, Starscream stepped out of the medbay and into the command center. He was surprised to find it almost empty aside from a few bots, hereamong Ironhide, Wheeljack and Cliffjumper. They barely seemed to notice him, busy talking or working on their own things. There were no humans present at the moment, not even on the railings.

Starscream looked around and studied the various openings leading to other places. He turned back to Ratchet.

"Which way is outside?" he asked.

Ratchet didn't answer him right away. Instead he walked right past him, walking over to Ironhide. Starscream followed but kept his distance. Ratchet and Ironhide seemed to say something to each other, so low Starscream couldn't make out what they were saying. Starscream cast a brief glance on Cliffjumper, who gave him a glare, and Wheeljack, who was too busy working on some sort of device to notice he was being watched.

As Ratchet and Ironhide finished their private talk, they walked over to Starscream, who perked to attention.

"Now, there're a few things you should know first before we can allow you to go anywhere, Starscream," Ironhide said and crossed his arms in an authoritative manner. "For safety reasons, we can't let you go outside on your own, since you will attract human attention in your current state. Normally we leave the base through the physical entrance in our alternate mode to avoid that, but as you've forgotten how to transform, well... I'm sure you can understand."

"I guess," Starscream replied, though uncertain why it was important to avoid the humans. He decided not to ask, he just wanted to get out of the base. "So how do I get outside?"

"Since you can't use the physical entrance," Ratchet replied instead and gestured at the dead-end tunnel with glowing lights, "you will have to use the GroundBridge to go outside. I suppose you don't remember what a GroundBridge is, do you?"

"No, what is it?"

"It's a pretty advanced piece of technology," Wheeljack explained from the side, apparently part of the conversation now. "It allows us to transport bots across vast distances in a few seconds, even if it's on the other side of the planet."

Starscream's optics widened in surprise. "That's called warping, right?" he asked.

"I suppose you could call it that," Wheeljack replied and scratched his head. "But it's more of a portal than teleportation. What we do is entering a set of coordinates into this machine," he gestured towards a computer and an instrument panel alongside the walls, "and then a portal appears in the tunnel over there which will take you to that location."

"We'll make sure to use a location without much human population," Ironhide said, "and where we can test your memories of flying and fighting. Well, flying, at least. We have a training room for practicing fighting skills. But Metroplex isn't big enough for a Flier like you to roam around."

Starscream nodded, crossed his arms and tapped the floor with his pede. "Well, get on with it already!" he demanded impatiently. "Pick a location!"

While Ironhide and Ratchet frowned at Starscream's rudeness, Wheeljack paid little mind to it, instead fiddling with the instrument panel to find a suitable location for Starscream to fly in.

"This place should do," Wheeljack informed after a couple of cycles. "Lots 'a space, no human settlements nearby, flat landscape without anything to fall into. Yeah, I think this is the best place."

As Wheeljack entered the coordinates, Starscream stopped tapping his pede on the floor and let his arms fall to his sides. His wings flapped behind him in anticipation. They were finally going to be used!

A few nano-cycles later, a swishing sound was heard behind them, and Starscream turned to see the tunnel, empty just a moment ago, now with a large round green thing rotating clockwise, white in the center.

"That's the portal?" Starscream asked. "The GroundBridge?"

"Yup," Wheeljack replied. "And I picked the perfect location for ya. You gonna go, right Ironhide?"

"I sure am," Ironhide replied, already moving towards the open portal. "Cliffjumper, wanna tag along with us?"

Cliffjumper, who had stayed silent and still until now, stood up from his seat and started walking over to Ironhide. "Sure, I could use a change of view," Cliffjumper replied. "Getting a bit tired of this desert. Hope you picked something good, Jackie."

Wheeljack hummed and scratched the back of his head. "Ehm, well, hope y'all have a good time," he said, then shook his head. "Or, at least, that things go well." He facepalmed. "Uh... nevermind. Be back soon."

Ignoring Wheeljack's jibber-jabbering, the three bots walked through the GroundBridge portal to wherever Wheeljack had decided they should go. Starscream hesitated before entering, unsure if it was entirely safe. As Ironhide walked first, Starscream decided to believe it was safe enough and followed after the big red bot with Cliffjumper following shortly behind the Seeker.

It was weird, walking through a GroundBridge. They walked through the short tunnel, but instead of hitting the wall in the far back, they kept going into the light. Starscream felt a strange sensation in his frame, almost as if his body was about to fall apart, and his head became light and dizzy. It wasn't too horrible though, and as they saw the end of the white and green tunnel, the sensation began to die down.

As they exited the GroundBridge, which closed immediately behind them, they found themselves in... a desert.

"You gotta be kidding me," Cliffjumper complained with a groan. "Another desert? Wait 'til we get back, Jackie's gonna get it..."

"Cliff, he did say the location was chosen specifically to meet Starscream's current needs," Ironhide reminded the minibot. "It's unpopulated by humans, it's flat, there's soft sand everywhere in case he crashes, and there's plenty of space to take off, fly around and land in."

"Still, did he _have_ to pick the _Sahara_ of all deserts?" Cliffjumper grumbled.

Starscream didn't pay much attention to the red bots' little argument. He had been captivated by the new location he found himself in. Sand, as far as his optics could see to the far horizon, to the right, to the left, in the front, behind him, everywhere he looked there was sand and nothing else. The place they stood in was relatively flat but soft, though not far from their location there were large hills or even mountains of sand, regulargly sweeping off the mounds by soft wind.

The sky was bright blue with a sun shining even brighter than in the other desert Starscream had woken up in. The desert the Autobot base was situated in wasn't so much sand as it was a canyon and dry wilderness. It had been mostly rocky with some plants here and here, and a lot of plateaus. This place just had sand. Lots and lots of sand. It was hot to stand on, and the sun shone bright and hot down on them as well. Starscream felt lucky to be silver-white instead of dark, then took a moment to realize he had just remembered something on his own.

"Starscream?" Ironhide asked behind the Seeker.

Starscream turned and looked at the red bots. "Huh? What?"

"Are you gonna transform?"

Starscream fell silent and thought. "Uh...how do I transform?"

The red bots crossed their arms, considering how to explain.

"Well, I don't know if Fliers do it differently than Grounders, but you kind of have to feel it in your Spark," Ironhide explained. "Then... move your limbs around. Maybe those wings of yours as well. Give it a try."

A rather vague description, but Starscream supposed he'd have to do with that. He turned away from the red bots, trying to ignore their stares. He stared at the horizon, specifically at the blue sky. Feeling just the faintest breeze caress his armor. His wings flapped behind him in anticipation.

"Feel it in my Spark," he repeated quietly to himself. "Remember..."

Starscream closed his optics and took a deep vent. Tuning out the sounds of the wind and the vents of Ironhide and Cliffjumper, he focused on the darkness and on the feeling of his wings, arms, legs and frame. Especially the wings. He could feel them moving on their own, not just from side to side but also up and down. They were telling him something, and he was beginning to understand.

After standing around doing nothing for about two minutes, Starscream suddenly leaped into the air, but instead of transforming, fire began to come out from his heel struts, making him float in the air, still in bipedal mode. Starscream looked down and gasped as he ascended further into the air. The feeling of having no ground below him, having free reign of the surrounding space, it was so familiar, so freeing. He had remembered how to activate his thrusters, at the very least. But this only allowed him to levitate. He needed to _fly_.

Somehow, Starscream had an idea of what to do. Instead of trying his luck right away, he boosted his thrusters, ascending further into the sky, higher and higher up, until Ironhide and Cliffjumper were mere specks on the ground below him. As he ascended, he marveled at the freedom of being able to move anywhere he wished without restrictions, having a large open space to move around in. He felt relaxed, and at the same time excited. With every meter he ascended into the sky, the more familiar everything felt. As he reached a certain point in the air, he made a decision.

And deactivated his thrusters.

He immediately began to fall towards the ground, in a free fall.

Anyone else would probably have been crazy and suicidal to even try this.

But Starscream wasn't just anyone.

He was the best flier in the galaxy.

Even with his memories gone, his body still remembered. And he still had his instincts.

With both, he left his fate up to his body.

Mere meters before hitting the sandy ground below, just as Starscream thought he might have overestimated himself, his limbs started moving on their own.

There was a series of metallic sounds.

A lot of body parts moving around in his field of vision.

And suddenly, he turned upwards, shooting a flame out of his rear thruster, and shot into the sky.

Using his radar, Starscream somehow managed to get an overview of his own body. He had changed shape, no longer a bipedal bot, but instead a jet, triangular and aerodynamic, zooming through the endless blue sky, effortlessly.

Starscream felt his Spark leaping and beating with excitement and let out shrieks of joy. "I did it! I transformed! I can fly!"

Starscream spun around, did a few loops, just trying out his flying capabilities. He ascended back high up into the sky, then he repeated his earlier action, and returned to bipedal mode, now coming as easy as had it never been forgotten. He initiated another free fall, this time enjoying the fall, knowing he had the ability to get back up before crashing.

He turned to face the ground and once again transformed meters before hitting the sand, leaping back into the sky, spinning with joy.

He suddenly remembered Ironhide and Cliffjumper were still waiting for him. Having achieved his goal, Starscream turned and headed back towards the spot where he had left the red bots. It was surprisingly easy to track them down with his radar, despite the vast emptiness and possible tendency to get people lost here. He found them within seconds and descended, transforming back into his bipedal mode while still a dozen meters above ground, landing on a pede and a knee strut, spreading his arms out to the sides for dramatic effect. It felt natural, perhaps that was how he normally transformed. He liked it. Made him feel like the center of attention, like someone powerful and special.

Starscream rose up with his head lowered and optics closed, lifting his head up as he stood up straight, feeling the faint breeze against his faceplate. Smiling, his optics opened and his gaze fell on the two red bots. They seemed wary for some reason.

"That... was amazing," Starscream sighed, ignoring the bots' stares. "How could I ever forget such a delight?" His smile turned into a smirk as he locked gazes with Ironhide. "Thank you for bringing me here, Ironhide. I appreciate it."

Ironhide and Cliffjumper seemed taken aback for some reason. "Uh, no problem," Ironhide replied and returned the smile, though seemingly more forced than sincere. "You're welcome."

"Can we go back to base now?" Cliffjumper asked impatiently. "At least it's got air conditioning there. It's steaming here."

"Sure," Ironhide replied and put a digit to his audio receptor. "Wheeljack, we're done here, requesting a 'Bridge back to base."

Starscream didn't want to leave the large open space, but at the same time he agreed with Cliffjumper that it was pretty hot here. At least now he had remembered how to transform, better yet, how to fly. And he knew he would never forget it again. The memories of his body and instincts were stronger than his processor. As long as that fact remained, he would never be unable to transform or fly again, even if he ended up losing his memories again at some point.

Mere seconds after requesting a 'Bridge back to base, the familiar green and white portal appeared right in front of them, probably the exact same place as they had entered the desert from.

This time, the red bots gestured Starscream to enter first. Looking back at the vast desert and airspace, he vowed he would go outside every single day, whether through GroundBridge or the physical entrance in the base, just so he could have that thrill again.

Making himself that promise, Starscream turned to the portal and went through, followed closely behind by Ironhide and Cliffjumper, making it back to base before the portal closed behind them, leaving the Sahara behind.


	8. Fight

CHAPTER 8

Fight

* * *

They arrived back in base just as quickly as they had left it, at least that's how Starscream felt. Cliffjumper and Ironhide probably thought it had taken forever. Who knew. They were Grounders, they didn't understand the joy of flying and how literally time flies by when you're having fun.

Wheeljack was the first to greet them as they returned. "Heya! How'd it go?"

Starscream was the one who answered. "Fantastic," he said with a sigh. "Now I know why I so badly wanted to go flying. You should try it some time."

Wheeljack scratched the back of his head. "Ehh, think I'll pass," he replied. "Oh, and, uh, sorry for sendin' ya to another desert."

"Don't sweat it," Ironhide replied. "It's fine. Right, Cliff?"

Cliffjumper crossed his arms and pouted a little but didn't complain further. "Yeah, it's fine. But next time send us somewhere else."

While they talked among themselves, Starscream looked around the command center. There seemed to be a few more bots than before they left. He recognized Bumblebee and Prowl, but the other yellow minibot with a dark blue helm, large optics and gray faceplate was new to him. He stood and chatted with Bumblebee in the other end of the room, the two of them gazing briefly at the Seeker before noticing he was watching them, and looked away again.

"Who's that with Bumblebee over there?" Starscream asked, still watching the minibots.

Ironhide followed Starscream's gaze and landed on the two minibots. "Oh, that's Goldbug," Ironhide replied. "He's Bumblebee's Spark Twin."

"Spark Twin?" Starscream repeated, now looking at Ironhide.

"Yeah, a Spark Twin is someone you share your Spark with. Humans call 'em siblings, brothers, I think, some call 'em sisters. Mechs that are Spark Twins often refer to each other as brothers. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are Spark Twins too."

Starscream's gaze found Sideswipe and studied him. Just then, Sunstreaker returned and switched to bipedal mode, as if summoned by the mention of his name. Starscream hummed. He looked back at Bumblebee and Goldbug, oblivious to the others talking about them.

"Bumblebee and Goldbug don't look like each other though," Starscream commented. "Don't twins usually look like each other?"

"That's right," Wheeljack replied. "But sometimes the splitting of the Spark isn't completely even, so the twins sometimes end up with different designs, models or even builds. I've heard of a pair of twins where one was a minibot and the other was a Flier like you. But those are pretty rare."

"Did you remember this on your own?" Ratchet replied from behind them, gaining their attention.

Starscream looked at him and hummed. "I suppose I did. Not sure why. It just seemed obvious, I guess."

"Well, in any case," Ironhide said and gained their attention, "at least now we know you remember how to fly. Which means now we have to find out if you remember how to fight."

Starscream felt a rush in his tanks, strangely eager to try out fighting.

"We have a training room in the base designed for both close combat and target practice. Follow me."

Ironhide turned his back on the Seeker and entered the hallway to the right of the GroundBridge tunnel, on the opposite side of the tunnel to the dungeon. Starscream followed close behind. He felt a presence behind him and turned his head slightly to the right. Prowl was walking silently behind the Seeker, but otherwise they were alone.

Starscream turned his gaze back to Ironhide in front of him as they walked through the dimly lit hallway. They passed several closed doors, and a few open ones. Starscream briefly looked into them, seeing single bots hanging out in the small rooms, and he caught glimpses of a berth in each.

"What are these rooms we're passing?" Starscream asked, even though he had an idea of what they were.

"They're our quarters," Ironhide replied without looking back at him. "It's where we sleep and go when we need some privacy. Each bot living in the base has a quarter of his own."

Starscream hummed and something came into his mind. "Where is that Optimus Prime? Is he sleeping?"

"He doesn't live here," Ironhide replied. "He lives in our main base, the Ark. Metroplex is one of our secret bases. The Decepticons have secret bases too, from what we know anyway. Their main base is the Nemesis, and that's where Megatron lives."

Starscream's tanks rushed again for some reason. "Megatron... do you know where the Nemesis is?"

"Yes, everyone knows where the Nemesis is located," Ironhide replied with little hesitation. "The Decepticons also know where the Ark is located. But they don't know where our secret bases are, which makes it all the more important to keep them a secret."

Starscream sighed of relief. "So if Optimus Prime is our leader, how do we know what to do when he's back at the Ark?"

"Easy. Each base has an appointed officer act as a leader of that base, a bot worthy of trust and respect to lead the others. I'm in charge of Metroplex City."

Starscream blinked, slightly surprised. "Really? You're in charge of this place? I'd have thought it was Ratchet, as much as he orders around."

"He's our base medic," Ironhide replied. "They're supposed to give orders to bots regarding their health, no matter the size or rank of those bots. A strict medic is a good medic, and Ratchet's as strict as they come. Even the tiniest scratch is treated with utmost care and seriousness. You won't find a better Autobot medic than Ratchet, and he's been doing this for more than four million years."

Starscream let out a surprised sound. "Four million years? Right, we live a long time. Our Sparks are eternal, so we can even change bodies. Right?"

Ironhide paused as they reached a big door in front of them. "That's right. Good to know you're starting to remember more on your own. Makes our job of telling you things easier. Well, we're here."

Ironhide pressed a panel on the wall to the left, and the large door opened. They stepped through, Ironhide stepped to the side to let Starscream have a look at the room.

The training room was pretty big, and the ceiling was high, high enough for two Optimus Primes to stand on each other's shoulders and hold their arms stretched all the way up. In the center of the room was a stage, a few meters taller than the floor, with four white rectangular poles lining up each corner, each pole with two long black lines, each line pointing towards another pole. In the far back of the room, behind the central stage, was a section of several booths of sorts, with low walls blocking the path to long rows which at the end of each was a target. On the ceiling above each row, there was a round machine which seemed able to go back and forth within the row, seemingly also a target of some sort.

Starscream looked to the right and saw long racks along the wall, lining up melee weapons, ranging from swords and axes to daggers and hammers in many sizes and shapes. Some were vibro-blades, others were solid. His gaze fell on a pair of red one-handed swords, seemingly solid. They looked familiar to him somehow.

Pulling his gaze away from the intriguing swords, Starscream looked to the left wall of the room, also lined up with racks, but these being filled with guns, cannons and other ranged weapons, some small, others large, some in pairs and some lone weapons. None of the weapons on those racks caught his interest, but then again he did have his own null-ray cannons.

Having taken a look at the room, Starscream turned back to Ironhide and Prowl, standing next to each other, waiting for Starscream to finish looking.

"So, what's first?" Starscream asked.

"We think it might be best to test your close combat skills first," Ironhide informed. "We'll do two tests, one with weapons and one without. Which do you want to try first?"

Starscream looked behind him at the weapons rack with melee weapons, gazing at the red swords. He turned back to the bots. "I'll try without weapons first," he decided.

"Very well," Ironhide replied and stepped aside, as did Prowl, and gestured at the stage behind them. "Step into this ring."

Starscream hesitated for a couple of seconds before passing by the two bots and stepped up into the 'ring', as it was apparently called, despite being square-shaped. A small round drone appeared out of nowhere, hovering above the ring. Starscream followed the drone with his optics as it moved around him.

"This is a simulation drone," Prowl explained, having stayed silent until now. "It will create a target, and you will test your hand-to-hand combat skills on it. Don't worry if it gets destroyed. They're easily repaired, no matter how battered. And if not, it's easy to make a new one. Speaking on behalf of Wheeljack, in any case."

Prowl seemed to press a button somewhere on the bottom of the ring, and suddenly a blue forcefield appeared surrounding the ring, coming from the black lines on the white poles. Starscream flinched, surprised by the forcefield. He quickly shook it off and locked his gaze onto the small drone. Certainly such a tiny machine wouldn't be able to withstand the power of a bot Starscream's size? He'd make sure to crush it into pieces, show the Autobots how strong he was. And find out how strong he was, himself.

As Prowl pressed another button on the ring, the small hovering drone suddenly changed shape, the image of a plain gray bot with no interesting details on him appeared instead. Starscream moped at the change, gazing above to see if the drone had really disappeared or if it was projecting a hologram of some sort.

Distracted, Starscream was taken by surprise as the gray bot charged at him, striking a clenched fist at him. Starscream managed to avoid just in time to not get hit, stepping to the right out of the bot's reach. He looked down at himself, wondering how he did that.

The gray bot quickly turned around and charged again, this time brushing Starscream's wing as the latter dodged again in time to avoid a more damaging hit. The Seeker looked around. The ring wasn't very big, perhaps four times the size of the medbay, which had been only just big enough to have two operating tables, a tool table and a chair, as well as three different machines surrounding them. Still, this ring was not very big to move around in, but probably still big enough to try out some moves.

Dodging another incoming attack by the gray bot, Starscream looked down at his servos. Perhaps this was what his talons were for. Prowl had said he didn't need to worry about doing damage to the drone. This was a good time to test out his claws.

As the gray bot charged for another attack, instead of dodging, Starscream countered and swiped out with his right servo, slashing the bot to the left. It stumbled, but quickly regained its balance and charged him again. It launched another strike with its right fist, but Starscream caught it in his own left servo, clenching tightly on the other one's fist. Had it been a live bot, the strength of Starscream's clench would have sent the opponent kneeling to the floor. But because it was a simulation, it felt no pain and thus it went for a strike with its left fist.

Unfazed, Starscream quickly caught the other fist with his right servo, delivering a similar powerfully tight clench to the fist. Having caught both fists in his own servos, the bot seemed helpless. Starscream underestimated it though, as the drone swung a leg and kicked him hard in the abdomen. Starscream coughed by the impact and threw the bot to the floor, gripping his abdomen to soothe the pain. He began to fear his injuries weren't completely recovered after all, but the pain quickly subsided.

Just as he recovered from the hit, the gray bot was back on its pedes and started punching away at Starscream, not ready for an all-out assault, receiving every punch the bot could throw at him, to his head, on his chest, in his abdomen. Getting irritated by the drone's assault, but unable to make a punch or a kick, Starscream instead delivered a headbutt to the other's helm, knocking it back.

It was just the opening Starscream needed. While the drone was stumbling backwards, Starscream went on the offensive and delivered his own series of punches, much faster and more impactful than the ones the drone delivered, in the same places he had been hit himself. They were so fast, even Ironhide and Prowl doubted either of them would be able to dodge them.

The two Autobots felt a presence and looked to the side. Other bots had arrived in the training room, apparently interested in Starscream's combat training. They didn't blame them. It did seem like a bad idea, teaching perhaps the most dangerous Decepticon in the universe to fight. Or rather, making him _remember_ how to fight. Even if he currently believed he was an Autobot. They knew, that deep inside, he was still a Decepticon. They had to be wary.

They didn't doubt that the whole amnesia thing wasn't just another one of Starscream's tricks to make them let their guard down before he stroke down on them. Pit, Ratchet had even confirmed the legitimacy by opening up his cranial chamber, exposing his brain module and searched all his memory chips to confirm they were deep-fried. This was one time where Starscream was definitely not tricking them.

But they also knew he could remember his past at any time. Even if it took years, or simply months, eventually he would remember.

In that case, they would have to make sure Starscream would be indebted to them. Despite his trademark deception and cowardice, he never let himself stay indebted to another bot. Even a bot as lowly as Starscream seemed to have _some_ honor, at least.

Oblivious to his spectators, Starscream continued his lightning-speed attacks on the helpless drone, and even threw in a quick kick or two occasionally, also so fast the Autobots were surprised he didn't throw himself off-balance in the process. They rarely saw Starscream doing close combat, normally he would take out his opponents form afar, with his guns, like the coward they knew him to be. To see him with such speed, such _grace_, such _perfection_ and _precision_, it was as if they were looking at a whole different bot.

After two cycles of unrelenting speedy attacks, Starscream paused, but not to catch his breath. He watched his opponent, watched as it swayed, having a hard time keeping itself upright with all the damage it had taken. He hadn't even used his claws, yet the bot seemed to be about to fall apart.

Getting tired of this thing, Starscream stepped forward and grabbed the drone's head with his right servo whilst holding onto its shoulder with his left servo. In a quick, strong move, he tore the bot's head off and watched the yellow optics turn black, sparks emitting from the head and the torso. He dropped the head on the floor and let go of the torso, watching it fall to the floor as well. A few seconds later, the body and head flickered as if it was a hologram, and soon the bot turned back into the small simulation drone, sparks flying from it, looking pretty wrecked.

Starscream smirked at the sight and looked at his fists. That had felt good, really good. He was stronger and faster than he had expected. Now he was even more eager to get his servos on those swords.

Starscream turned around to look down at Ironhide, only to find that they had been joined by pretty much the rest of the bots in the base, aside from Ratchet. Behind Ironhide and Prowl stood Bumblebee, Goldbug and Cliffjumper, standing just the right angle to see for their small sizes. To the right of Ironhide stood Sideswipe and Suntreaker, seemingly impressed by the Seeker's performance in speed. To the left of Prowl stood Wheeljack, similarly surprised at Starscream's skills in close combat. It was hard to determine, though, as his face was covered by a mask, so all Starscream had to go for were his blue optics, widened in impression.

Rather than shy away, Starscream stepped forward and crossed his arms, pretending he didn't care about the many stares of the bots below.

"So, how did I do?" Starscream asked and put on a smirk. "Impressed by my power? I must say, sometimes I even surprise myself how powerful I am."

"Especially now when you've just tried it out for the first time, I reckon," Cliffjumper commented sourly.

Starscream ignored the minibot's comment and gazed at Ironhide and Prowl.

"You did well," Ironhide decided to say. "At least now we know you can fight with yer bare hands."

"Aren't they always bare?" Starscream said, not really a question though. "Now, can I try with weapons this time?"

Ironhide and Prowl shared gazes with each other, ignoring the other bots' nodding and shaking of their heads. They looked back at the Seeker above.

"Sure," Prowl decided. "I will acquire them for you." Prowl made his way through the small crowd of Autobots and over to the rack of melee weapons. He was about to pick himself, but paused and turned around to look at Starscream. "Take your pick."

Before Starscream could announce his choice, the other Autobots burst in with their own opinions.

"Take the hammer, it's heavy, strong and solid!"

"No, the daggers! They're fast, light and deadly!"

"Take the longsword, it's awesome!"

"Axes are the best!"

"Quiet!" Ironhide exclaimed, silencing the bots. "This is Starscream's decision, not yours. And why are you so eager to let him take your own weapons?"

The Autobots gazed at each other, then rubbed their servos, pulled them behind their backs, lowered their heads or looked away in embarrassment. Prowl and Ironhide turned their gazes back at Starscream.

"You pick, Starscream," Ironhide ensured him.

Starscream made little hesitation in his choice, merely taking his time to locate what he wanted. He pointed with a clawed digit. "The two red swords over there," he announced. "The short ones, which go as a pair."

Prowl located the swords and took them down from the rack. He wandered back to the ring and reached up to hand over the swords. Starscream took them in both servos with little hesitation.

Starscream gazed at the swords he had been given, weighing them. They were light, and the blades were red while the hilts were shiny dark gray. The swords were beautiful, and by the feel of them, deadly. Starscream smiled as he gained a better grip on the hilts and clenched his fists.

Before Ironhide or Prowl could open their mouths - probably to explain to Starscream how to use a sword - Starscream lifted an arm and swung the sword down, then swung the other arm to the side, slicing through the air, but with little force, thus keeping his balance unaffected.

Starscream looked down at the bots. "You have more of those drones, right?" he said and gave a wide, very Starscreamy smirk.


	9. Swords and Guns

CHAPTER 9

Swords and Guns

* * *

If the Autobots thought Starscream had been fast with his fists, they learned it was nothing compared to him fighting with swords. Sure, they'd seen him fighting with swords before. Pit, some of them had even felt the blades cutting or brushing their armor. But like with hand-to-hand combat, Starscream still fought more often with ranged weapons than with melee weapons. And the experience of Starscream fighting with swords was different when you're watching him and not the one he's fighting.

Starscream was given over a dozen drones, each ready to create a new simulation when the last was defeated. He sliced through each with ease. Sometimes two or three drones attacked him at once, and still he cut them down like nothing. His movements were swift and deadly, slicing off the drones' heads or cutting them clean in half in split-seconds.

The bots kept their optics open without blinking. Starscream's movements were so fast, if you blinked, you'd miss the destruction of a drone. The swords were solid and of high quality, and the lightness made them fast weapons indeed. Some of the bots watching became thoughtful.

"To think that he chose specifically _those_ swords," Prowl commented quietly, as half of the drones had been eliminated, and Starscream started to slow down, apparently finding it too easy and began playing around with the drones, poking and prodding them with the tips of his blades.

"Who'd have thought?" Ironhide replied in agreement. "Guess he remembers more than we thought."

"Is this one a' the things we have ta talk to him about?" Wheeljack asked in barely a whisper. "Come up with somethin'?"

"Perhaps not," Ironhide replied. "It's nothing major, you can tell 'em if ya want. As long as you remember to avoid telling him you-know-what."

"Would never even dream of it," Wheeljack replied.

They returned their gazes to Starscream, who just finished off the last drone in that moment. He looked up and around, checking if there were more drones. Finding none, his gaze fell on the floor to the perhaps twenty destroyed drones, not including the one he had destroyed with his servos only. He smirked and stood up straight, swinging the swords one last, swift time to each side, like those human samurais in some of the movies the bots sometimes watched did. He definitely did not seem like the bot they used to know.

Starscream glanced down at the spectating Autobots, his smirk growing wider. "I like these swords," he announced. "Can I keep them?"

Ironhide and Prowl side-glanced at each other. "Suppose you could make them your main melee weapons," Ironhide said. "You're pretty good with them. Though before we decide on anything, let's see how good ye are at ranged combat. Prowl."

Prowl pressed the button on the ring, and the forcefield surrounding it disappeared, allowing Starscream to come down on the floor again. As he descended, he reluctantly handed over the red swords to Prowl, who returned them to the rack he had taken them from. As he returned, he and Ironhide gestured Starscream to follow them to the end of the room. The remaining Autobots followed, though tried to keep their distance, trying not to make a big deal out of Starscream's combat training, and failing. Starscream glanced back at the crowd with a confused look, but decided not to ask.

"Here we are," Ironhide announced and stopped by the shooting range at the end of the room. "As you can see, we have several ranges you can stand in during target practice. There are still targets and moving targets, just to make it a bit more challenging. You should probably start with the still target at the end of the range. But first, you need a weapon."

"Can I use my null-rays?" Starscream asked hopeful, wanting to try out his build-in weapons.

"No," Ironhide and practically everyone else in the room said, perhaps a bit too fast and a bit too loud. Starscream flinched and looked around at the sudden loud noise everyone made. They realized their reaction had been a bit exaggerated and resumed more 'normal' positions, or at least attempted to.

"Sorry," Ironhide apologized on everyone's behalf, and Starscream looked back at him. "It's just, those null-rays of yours aren't something to test out in a small enclosed space like this one."

"Why not?" Starscream asked. "What's the problem?"

"Null-rays can be used to stun targets at low power," Prowl replied instead. "But at high power they can also cause quite a lot of damage. If handled incorrectly, this entire room could collapse."

Starscream hummed at the information and gazed thoughtfully at his arms. "So my null-rays are too dangerous to use indoors," he concluded. "Got it. Can I at least try them later? Outside?"

"Sure," Ironhide replied, maybe a bit too fast. "But we'll have to make the right preparations in case you've forgotten how to control the power level of them. For now, though, keep them in your arms and choose one of our guns on the rack over there."

Ironhide pointed at the ranged weapons rack and Starscream followed with his optics. The Seeker studied the weapons from a distance. None of them seemed particularly interesting or appealing to him. Not like the swords. He felt no connection with any of the guns. No spirit, no energy. Choosing a ranged weapon while already having a pair installed in his arms was, frankly, boring.

Eventually Starscream sighed and simply pointed at a pair of small blasters at random. "I'll have those," he said. "The small yellow ones."

Prowl once again went over to the rack and found the blasters pointed out by Starscream. He returned quickly with them and presented them to Starscream, who reluctantly took them.

Each blaster was yellow and black striped, with two openings instead of one. They seemed to be laser blasters. The handle was made in a way so that one could wear the guns on one's knuckles. Whether this made for better aim than a regular handheld blaster depended on the wielder's skill.

Starscream gripped the handles, situating the gunheads on top of his knuckles. It was weird, though for some reason strangely familiar. Not as familiar as the swords, granted, but still. He stepped into one of the booths of the shooting range and positioned himself ready.

"Now," Ironhide began, "you start with the still target, just to get an idea of how to shoot. You lift your arms and aim at the target."

Starscream did as instructed and lifted his arms, noting the null-rays didn't come out this time, and tried his best to aim at the target about 10 meters away at the back of the range. He closed one optic to get a 2D view of the target, to see if it made for a better aim. While aiming, Ironhide continued his explanation.

"On the side of the handles on the blasters you're holding, you'll feel a button by yer thumbs."

Starscream felt on the handles by his thumbs, noting the small bumps that made for buttons.

"Those are the triggers," Ironhide explained. "When you press them, the blasters will fire. There are three kinds of ammo in guns: laser, plasma and solid. The ones yer holding are laser blasters. Aim at the target and give the triggers a try."

Starscream decided to keep one optic open and aim with one arm to begin with. With his left optic open and aiming his left blaster at the target's head, his thumb pressed the button on the handle.

The blaster fired two yellow lasers from its openings. They missed the target just above the head.

Starscream lowered his arm and hummed in dissatisfaction. Behind him he heard just the faintest sounds of giggles. Damn Autobots. They were making fun of him. Mocking him.

"It can be hard to hit on your first try," Ironhide said, trying to stiffle the amused bots. "Try again. You'll get it eventually."

Starscream frowned but resumed his position and lifted his arms again. This time, rather than aiming one arm with one open optic, he aimed both arms at the target, with both optics open. He held the blasters in a horizontal angle, pointing to the middle, aiming at the chest. After a few seconds of mental preparation, he pressed the trigger on both blasters.

Four yellow lasers were fired from the two blasters. All four lasers hit the target straight in the head, making a black horizontal line on the target's blank face.

Before any of the bots could comment, Starscream turned the blasters in a vertical position. Barely hesitating, he pressed the buttons again, all four lasers hitting the target in the head yet again, this time making a black vertical line right in the center of the face of the target. Together, the two black burn marks formed a cross.

Starscream lowered his arms and looked behind him to see the bots' reactions. No one was laughing now. Everyone was silent. Perfect.

"How was that?" Starscream asked in a silky voice, perhaps not entirely intentional.

Ironhide was quick to shake off the surprised expression adorning everyone's faces.

"That was good," he said after resetting his vocalizer. "Pretty good. Yer a good shot. Didn't think you'd get it right so quickly."

Ironhide looked back at the other bots and silently signaled them to drop those dumb expressions, which they did, a bit embarrassed. He turned back to Starscream.

"But that was just a still target," Ironhide continued. "Few enemies will just stand still when you're shooting at them. That's why we have moving practice targets as well. Prowl."

Prowl pressed a button on the wall seperating Starscream's booth from the one right next to him, and suddenly a round target started moving back and forth on the ceiling, racing to just a meter in front of Starscream to the end of the range, right above the still target.

Starscream lifted his arms, both aimed at the target, both optics open. He moved his arms along with the target, until it reached a point in the middle. He pulled the triggers, and watched as the lasers hit the ceiling instead, the target moving along, unharmed. Starscream hummed again in dissatisfaction. Only one of the bots behind him sounded as if he was giggling, but was soon silenced by the one standing next to him, shushing him.

"You will find moving targets are much harder to hit than the still ones," Ironhide informed, ignoring the noise behind them. "This part takes not only good aim, but also prediction."

"Prediction?" Starscream repeated in confusion.

"You have to predict where the target will be next," Prowl explained. "Simply aiming at it and shoot will just have the shot miss the target. The faster the target, the harder it is to hit, and the better you will have to predict its next moves."

Starscream hummed, not out of dissatisfaction, but out of thought.

Without replying, Starscream lifted his arms again, aiming upwards. This time, he didn't follow the target, instead he kept his aim fixed on a point in the middle of the ceiling. He followed the target's movements with his optics, waiting for the right moment.

The target moved to the end of the range, then started moving back towards Starscream.

Starscream pressed the buttons.

The lasers hit the target and left four burn marks on it, though none of them in the middle.

Starscream didn't lower his arms right away. Instead he turned them vertically again and aimed. After the target had gone another round to the back of the range and was coming back, Starscream pressed the buttons again. All four lasers managed to hit the center of the target, making a big black dot on the circle.

Satisfied, Starscream lowered his arms and looked back at the others to see their reactions. Not as surprised as before, though they were still speechless. Just the way he liked it.

"This is too easy," Starscream commented and crossed his arms, still holding the blasters. "You do this every day?"

"It's important to keep your mind working and your skills at their best," Ironhide replied. "And watch where yer pointing those things, button-triggers go off pretty easily."

"It's fine," Starscream replied. Just then, his arm pressed against his chest, causing his thumb to press the button on one of the blasters, firing off two lasers to the right. The shot hit the rack, causing an ion cannon to fall off its rack and onto the floor, causing it to go off and fire a large plasma blast towards the Autobots, who just managed to duck in time to avoid a hole in their bodies. The blast hit an energy axe on the melee rack on the opposite wall, which fell to the floor with a loud _clank_, though thankfully the chain reaction stopped there.

Starscream's mouth had changed to a hard line, his optics wide and pupils narrow. The Autobots stared at him and the blasters, also with wide optics. Nobody said anything for a while.

Starscream sighed and let his arms fall to his sides, reaching forth. "...nevermind," he said quietly, barely a whisper.

Prowl, the least moved of the bunch by the accident, promptly took the blasters back from Starscream's servos and put them back onto the weapons rack. Afterwards, he picked up the ion cannon and put it back carefully in its spot again, followed by doing the same with the energy axe by the other wall.

Ironhide reset his vocalizer and turned his attention back to Starscream. "And _that_ is why we practice every day," he concluded. "So we aren't outdone by the very weapons we're wielding. Yer a good shot, Starscream, but ye just lost yer memories. Can't expect ye to be in perfect condition even if yer fully recovered. Practice here every day, both with swords and with guns, and one day we'll let ye try out yer null-rays. And who knows, someday you may even return to the battlefield with us."

Starscream perked to attention. "You mean fight the Decepticons?" he said. "Fight Megatron?"

"Pretty much," Ironhide replied and crossed his arms. "But that's fer another day. I think you've had enough combat practice for one day. We'll continue tomorrow, with some more, if yer up to it."

"I will be," Starscream replied, a bit disappointed training was ending already. The bots started to leave the training room, Ironhide, Prowl and Starscream walking at the back of the crowd, through the hallway.

Starscream was silent for a while, until he asked: "Can I go outside and fly for a bit?"

Ironhide tapped his chin, thinking. "Nah, it's getting a bit late. The sun has probably already set by now. You spent quite a while knocking heads and blades with those simulation drones, not to mention target practice."

Starscream gave the red bot a surprised look. "It's already that late? Does this mean everyone's going to recharge soon?"

"Probably," Ironhide replied, as they passed several bots retreating into their quarters. "Though it's still early evening, and most of us don't turn in until about eleven in the evening, sometimes around midnight. There's always at least one bot on nightwatch duty though. Cliff was it last night. This night it's Wheeljack."

"The nerdy geek?" Starscream replied with a smirk, watching the nerdy geek walking a few meters ahead of them. "Can't imagine him as a good lookout."

"Wheeljack may be a bit... _eccentric_," Ironhide replied, lower now than before, "but he's stronger, faster, smarter and more attentive than he looks. His inventions have saved us from many a predicament."

"As well as _causing_ us many a predicament," Prowl replied.

"Yeah, right," Ironhide replied as they reached the command center. "But that's beside the point. Wheeljack is a trustworthy mech, someone you can rely on, even if he's a bit quirky. Maybe you should try an' get to know him. Would be good for you to make some friends now that yer here anyway."

"Friends?" Starscream repeated. "What are friends?"

"They're those you hang out with, have a good time with," Ironhide replied. "Those you can trust."

Starscream hummed quietly. "I don't think I have those," he replied quietly. "The word sounds new to me, even if I've lost my memories."

Ironhide and Prowl shared glances, while Starscream was looking at the floor in his thoughts. He looked up at them.

"Did I have any friends before I lost my memories?" Starscream asked. "Like, back in the base where I was stationed originally?"

Again the two Autobots shared glances, uncertain what to say. They looked back at him.

"Unfortunately, we do not know," Prowl replied. "As we explained before, we didn't know you very well before, nor did we see you very often. Maybe you did have friends before, maybe you didn't."

Starscream silenced for a while, then seemed to realize something. "Could you contact the base I used to stay at?" he asked hopeful. "Ask them if I had any friends there?"

Yet again Ironhide and Prowl shared glances, slightly nervous, it seemed. When they looked back, Ironhide answered.

"We'll...see what we can do," he decided to say. "Maybe you should just turn in for the night. Oh, you can have the spare room we have in the hallway. Wheeljack, can you show Starscream to the spare quarters, please?"

Wheeljack, who had just returned to his workspace, removed himself from it, as it seemed he hadn't started on anything yet. "Sure thing," he replied. "This way."

As Wheeljack passed Starscream, the latter followed, though glanced back at Ironhide and Prowl, hoping they would do what he asked. He pulled his attention away from them and instead to Wheeljack, who was barely a head shorter than himself.

"So, you seem to have a reputation here," Starscream said and gave him a smirk. "How do you feel about that?"

"About bots calling me eccentric and quirky behind my back?" Wheeljack replied, only giving the Seeker a brief glance. "No problem with it. I don't care what anyone calls me, as long as they still think I'm competent enough to entrust their lives with. Which isn't really easy, by the way. It's a big responsibility, and I ain't always the most... well, responsible bot in the world, y'know."

They walked for a bit in silence before they reached the so-called spare quarters. Wheeljack opened it by pressing a single button beside the door, which slid to the side, allowing them entrance.

"Well, call me if ya need anythin'," Wheeljack asked and was about to leave.

"What's that thing you have on your face?" Starscream asked.

Wheeljack paused and felt his face. "My face? Whaddya mean?"

Starscream pat his own mouth and chin with a servo. "You know, the thing that's covering your face. Why's it doing that?"

Wheeljack realized what he meant and chuckled. "Oh, that's just a mouth mask, many bots wear them. Mouth masks protect large parts a' the face in battle. Some feel more vulnerable without 'em, others just wear them to look cool."

"What's your reason?"

"My reason? Uh..." Wheeljack scratched the back of his head shyly. "I don't want people to see my face, it's hideous."

"Please," Starscream replied and placed his servos on his hips. "I don't believe you're hideous, not if you look like the rest of the Autobots in here. You all practically have the same faces."

"Some of us wear visors to better protect our optics, or just to look cool as well," Wheeljack replied. "Jazz sports a visor. I think he can remove it though."

Starscream hummed. "Can you remove a mask too?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, why?"

"I was just thinking..." Starscream fell silent and shook his head. "Nevermind. I suppose I'll turn in, try to get some sleep."

Wheeljack seemed eager to end the conversation right there. "Well, then, goodnight, Starscream," he said and left.

"Goodnight, Wheeljack," Starscream replied and closed the door, taking a look around his new room.

It was pretty simple decorated. A berth, a shelf with some datapads on it, and a desk with a chair. Nothing else really.

Except for some very familiar rods lying on the desk. Along with some other strange gimmicks Starscream hadn't seen before. A color cube, a shiny cylinder, colorful jigsaw puzzle pieces, small metal poles and planks in slightly different shapes or with holes in them, and a round soft looking ball thing. Apparently Wheeljack had taken the liberty of giving Starscream more puzzles to entertain himself with. He even noticed some new, additional metal rod and ring puzzles he hadn't tried before.

Starscream hummed and shrugged, sitting by the desk and decided to spend the evening looking over his new 'toys'.


	10. Puzzle Fun

CHAPTER 10

Puzzle Fun

* * *

Starscream played with the metal rod puzzles first. Wheeljack had given him at least ten new sets, along with those five he had already looked at earlier that day, so there was a lot to do. Some of the puzzles were easy, others were hard, and some were hard at first before becoming easy.

Having played with the puzzles for about an hour, taking them apart and putting them back together, Starscream decided to look at the other things Wheeljack had apparently given him. His gaze fell on the color cube with six sides, nine cells on each side, consisting of six different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange and white.

Starscream picked up the cube and examined it closely. It felt weird, solid yet loose in some places. He grabbed a row of cells and twisted it, watching as the row moved to another side. He smiled in understanding. He had to make each side a solid color. Shouldn't be too hard.

Starscream decided to start with red. He moved the pieces around until each red cell was on a single side. His smile widened into a grin. Then fell as he looked at the other sides, still shambled. He hummed. How was he going to make the other sides without screwing up the red side?

He decided to take a risk and just moved the pieces, trying to make a blue side now. Only, when he finished the blue side, he found his red side all screwed up. He sighed in irritation and looked the cube over again.

This time Starscream noticed the corners and edges had two different colors. That probably meant something. The solid blue side he had currently made had its corners and edges all messed up, just like the rest of the cells.

Knowing he wasn't getting anywhere, Starscream turned the rows again, and now noticed the center pieces didn't switch places. He examined the sides more closely. There was one center piece of each color. They didn't switch places when he moved the rows. They were fixed in place. That was definitely a clue.

Starscream decided to make another red side, but this time paying attention to which color the edges and corners were. After a few minutes, he managed to make a solid red side, with each row on the sides next to it in solid colors. He smiled satisfied and turned the row so the edges and corners were on the same sides as the center pieces of each color. This was definitely what he had to do.

His smile quickly fell as he looked over the cubes other sides. He got the placements right, but now he was once again stuck. How was he going to make the rest of the sides without screwing up his work on the red side? Not to mention the apparent orange side opposite of the red side, from what he could tell from the center piece.

Starscream put down the color cube on the desk in front of him and rested his head on his palms, staring at the cube. He wracked his processor, trying to find a way to fix it. He had gotten this far, he couldn't just turn back now. But he had no clue how to fix the other sides.

He sat and stared at the cube for about an hour before deciding he'd save it for tomorrow. A puzzle this difficult needed a good night's rest to think about.

Getting up from his desk, Starscream made his short way over to the berth, but didn't lie down immediately. He looked it over. It certainly seemed more comfortable than the operating table in the medbay. But he was uncertain whether to just lie down, or if he had to press a button or plug in a cable or...

He let out a sigh and decided to just lay down. Recharge couldn't be so complicated that one couldn't just lay down and close their optics. And he was right, falling into recharge was easy enough.

It was getting enough recharge that was the real complication.

* * *

"You've really screwed up now, Ironhide," Cliffjumper said, having decided to stay up with the others.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want from me?" Ironhide replied irritated.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Cliffjumper replied. "Saying we'll contact his old base! We'd have to find out where the 'Cons' secret bases are!"

"Or we could just call one of our own bases and have them act as if Starscream used to be there," Wheeljack suggested.

"And which base do you suggest we call?" Cliffjumper snarled. "Other than this one and the Ark, we have six different bases on this planet! And one of them is Fortress Maximus!"

"I'm sure we can figure something out," Ironhide said. "We can arrange a meeting with one of them, explain the situation and see if they'll help us out."

"Sure, everyone's gonna be _thrilled_ to help out with _Starscream_," Cliffjumper said sarcastically. "Even if Prime has told every single Autobot base by now, I doubt _any_ of them would want to take Starscream off our hands. I mean, _we_ can barely tolerate the guy, the only reason we're keeping him here is because we _found_ him!"

"Besides," Ratchet went in, "we can't just make a call or arrange a meeting as simple as that. What if Starscream were to overhear us and find out what we've told him is a lie?"

"Pit, even _talking_ about Starscream finding out we lied is risky," Cliffjumper said and turned to look at the hallway, which for the moment was empty. "One can never know where he is. He's unpredictable, he's _dangerous_. I'm telling you, this whole amnesia thing is nothing but a charade, a facade. If not on his end, then on ours. We can't keep lying like this, it's not how we Autobots are. We can't keep him here."

"I know what you mean, Cliff," Ironhide replied. "But it's also not the Autobot way to give up on someone just because they're a bit difficult. Optimus wouldn't approve of it, and frankly neither do I."

"Perhaps we don't need to arrange a meeting ourselves," Wheeljack suggested. "We could call Optimus for help. Then he could call the other bases, see who's most willin' to take Starscream in. Then, when the whole thing is figured out, we'll have Starscream meet 'em."

The bots thought on Wheeljack's suggestion.

"Sounds like a decent plan, Jackie," Ironhide replied. "Anyone disagree?"

Nobody seemed to disagree.

"Then let's give the Ark a call."

* * *

Starscream stood once again in the middle of a desert, similar to the one he woke up in. He looked around, having a bad feeling. It felt familiar, though he was uncertain why. He did feel like someone was watching him, but he could see no one.

That is, until he looked up.

Above him, just a few dozen meters in the air, a large ship of some kind hovered in the dark blue sky. It was hard to make out any colors or details because of the darkness, but it didn't feel friendly.

Suddenly, a green light appeared from the underside of the ship, seconds after Starscream had spotted it. Starscream looked down and watched as his pedes were lifted from the ground below him. He tried to move but couldn't, getting lifted higher and higher into the air.

He tried to transform. That didn't work either. He tried to lift his arms to access his null-rays. He didn't have the energy to even lift a digit.

Suddenly, Starscream found himself strapped to a table, unable to move any part of his body, not even his digits. He couldn't even turn his head. Every moveable part of his body had been strapped in some way to the table, leaving him completely immobile. He felt exposed and vulnerable in this position, surrounded by darkness, only able to see the table, straps and himself. He had no idea how he had gotten himself into this situation.

Suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes appeared amidst the darkness. Followed by a cold, sinister voice.

"_A successful catch. I can't wait to experiment on you._"

"_Whatever shall we do first?_"

"_His head! Open his head!_"

Starscream stiffened as a screechy metallic noise sounded, and a large buzzsaw appeared just above his head. He stared at the incoming saw, aimed at his forehead.

"No, don't, please!" Starscream shrieked and tried to get free. "Go away! _Go away!_"

He tried to struggle free, but despite how much he tried, he couldn't even shake the table he was strapped onto. And the buzzsaw kept coming closer, and closer...

"Stop!" Starscream screamed. "STOP! _STOOOP!_"

The buzzsaw made contact with his helm. Massive pain surged through his head and to the rest of his body.

He screamed.

And sat up.

Starscream threw himself out of berth and grabbed his helm, protecting it from harm. As he lay on the floor, he felt for a wound, but found none.

It had been a dream. Another nightmare.

But he still felt the pain stinging in his head, right where he had his servo. It stung, as if the wound was real.

Slowly, on staggering pedes and servos, Starscream got up and sat on the edge of the berth. He looked around and found a clock placed on the shelf with datapads on it. It said 1:17 AM. Not long after midnight, just like last night.

Starscream rubbed his servos down his face, trying to shake the nightmare off. It had been way more graphic than the last one. And with another monster lurking in the shadows. Or, more monsters, he remembered three voices from the dream.

Starscream looked down at the berth. He was tired, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. Not yet, at least.

Someone knocked on the door. Starscream winced, but quickly shook it off.

"Yes?" he called quietly.

The door slid aside and revealed Wheeljack behind it. He didn't seem like he had just woken up. He was on nightwatch duty, after all.

"Hey, uh, you okay in there?" Wheeljack asked. "I heard some screamin' comin' from here. You have another nightmare?"

Starscream, still trying to calm down from the nightmare, nodded slightly.

"You... wanna... talk about it?" Wheeljack asked and crossed his arms.

Starscream shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said quietly. "I'm over it now."

"Alright."

Wheeljack didn't leave the room right away. He looked away and scratched the back of his helm shyly. He glanced back at Starscream, who also looked away.

"You, uh, you want me to stay?" Wheeljack asked uncertain. "Til you fall asleep?"

Starscream tapped his legs with his talons, looking anywhere but at Wheeljack. "Maybe," he replied. "If you must."

Wheeljack took it as a yes and stepped inside the room, but didn't approach the Seeker further, nor did he close the door. He leaned against a wall and glanced at the desk.

"So, I see you've been busy there," Wheeljack commented on the metal puzzles and the not-so-fixed color cube. "You like the puzzles I put in here?"

Starscream hummed. "They're kind of fun, I guess," he replied. "But I'm sort of stuck on the cube."

Wheeljack hummed in understanding and crossed his arms. "Ah yes, it's the ultimate test of puzzle-solving. It takes a great and flexible mind to solve such a complex puzzle. You're already well on your way, I see."

"But how am I supposed to find out how to make all the sides one color without messing up the one I've already made?" Starscream asked with a sigh.

"That's for you to find out," Wheeljack replied and winked at the Seeker. "Wouldn't be a puzzle if I just gave you the answer, now would it?"

"You know the answer?"

"I'm telling you, if you figure it out on your own, you'll feel much better about yourself than if you have someone else explain it to you. Even if most people can't solve it without help."

Starscream's optics widened. "It's that hard to solve? Can anyone solve it without help from others?"

"Yeah, but it's pretty few. You could say those who can are pretty special folks. And people really admire them for their ingenuity and integrity. Learning to fix it by using help from others, well, it is the easier way, but it also makes you feel like a cheater, and once you've learned what to do, you can't go back. You will forever have to fix the cube, knowing you needed help to do it, just like everyone else. But hey, nothin' wrong with bein' normal, huh? ...Starscream?"

Starscream's optics were closed, and a small snore sounded from him. He was still sitting upright, but he was sound asleep. Wheeljack smiled under his mask.

Should he lay him down on the berth? Provide a more comfortable position? Wheeljack didn't want to disturb him, he seemed like he didn't get enough rest. Touching him would probably just wake him up again.

Wheeljack decided to leave him be and carefully tiptoed out of the room. He was unsure whether to leave the door open or close it, as it couldn't be closed quietly and might wake him up again.

Not wanting to wake the Seeker up, Wheeljack decided to leave the door open. Then he could at least hear if he was having another nightmare throughout the night. He left the room and returned to the command center, sat down by his work table and started tinkering with his newest invention, all alone and undisturbed.

Until a thought came to mind. One he had thought about since his conversation with Starscream earlier that evening.

Inspired, Wheeljack shoved his invention aside and started working on something new. Something that definitely would help with the Autobots' current situation.


	11. A Familiar Face

CHAPTER 11

A Familiar Face

* * *

"Starscream? You sleeping?" a small voice sounded in the silence.

Starscream opened his optics into slits. His gaze went around the room before falling to the floor, where Amy stood, staring up at the sitting Seeker with big glossy blue eyes and a smile.

"Amy," Starscream said and groaned, stretching his arms and arching his back, feeling a bit stiff. "What are you doing here? How did you even get in my room?"

"The door's open," Amy replied, smile unfaltering. "So I walked in."

"Didn't you say you live in the city above? Why do you keep coming down here? Or did you even return to the surface?"

"I sneak down here from time to time," Amy replied, "because I want to see you. I can't stay down here for long though, or my parents will get worried. And then they'll start looking for me, and they'll find you guys. I don't want them to get you, Starscream. Who knows what they'll do to you?"

Starscream frowned in confusion. "Who are 'they'? Bots? Humans?"

Amy's smile seemed to falter, and, surprisingly, replaced by a worried frown.

"Anyone," Amy replied. "People don't like your kind. They don't like those who look different, those who think differently. They don't understand. But I do. At least I think I do. I don't think you deserve to be treated like that. Nobody does."

"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

Amy shook her head and put her smile back on. "Nothing important. Just make sure to stay with the Autobots, alright? They'll keep you safe."

Amy was already walking out of the room.

"Keep me safe from what? Megatron?"

"We can say that. Well, gotta go. Gotta be in bed before Mom and Dad wake up. Goodnight, Starscream!"

Before Starscream could ask: "Mom? Dad?", Amy was gone like the wind. Starscream huffed. "This is getting stranger and stranger. Probably just another dream. Better get some more sleep."

Starscream got up and walked over to the door and pressed the button to close it. Afterwards he walked back to the berth and laid down on it. He glanced at the clock on the shelf. 4:47 AM. Early morning. Several interruptions. He probably would not get much rest tonight. Then again, not like he had anything planned for the day other than training, and that could be done at any time, it seemed.

Slowly, after several minutes of thinking of nothing in particular, Starscream closed his optics and fell back asleep.

Barely a moment later, someone knocked on his door, wincing him awake. He glanced at the clock again. 10:27 AM. Almost six hours had passed since he fell asleep. Not enough rest to cover the entire day, in any case.

Whoever was at the door knocked again. Starscream groaned.

"What?" he snarled at the door.

The door opened and Ratchet stood behind it. Starscream sat himself on his elbows.

"Good morning to you too," Ratchet replied sarcastically and showed himself inside. "Did you sleep well?"

Starscream groaned and let himself fall back into the berth, still tired.

"Well, at least you got a real berth to sleep in now," Ratchet replied. "Wheeljack told me you had a nightmare. And you didn't show up this morning. Did you get enough rest?"

"I doubt it," Starscream mumbled and shifted to lay on his side. "Still tired. I want to sleep."

"It's almost noon, you have to get up now," Ratchet said and poked Starscream on the arm.

Starscream waved the digit away. "Leave me alone," he grumbled. "Just let me sleep."

Ratchet huffed and grabbed the Seeker's arm and started pulling him up. "Unfortunately for you, we Autobots can't afford to sleep in whenever we want. Better not get you into such a habit. Maybe if you get tired enough throughout the day, you'll sleep better at night."

Starscream barely resisted the pull and let himself get hauled onto his legs, having hard to keep his optics open. "Maybe, you say," he grumbled in reply. "Or maybe I'll drop dead."

"Don't be overdramatic, your energy levels aren't low enough to affect your biology yet. You'll be fine."

Ratchet started shoving Starscream out of the room.

"Easy for you to say," Starscream muttered. "You're not the one who got his head cut open."

"I know," Ratchet said and stopped pushing when Starscream started walking on his own, heading for the command center. "You'll just have to survive somehow."

They entered the command center. Everyone seemed to be present for once. All nine Autobots stationed in Metroplex City were in the command center. For the first time since the day Starscream arrived, humans were present in the base, not being Amy. He recognized the man called Leon on the floor next to Ironhide, along with a few other humans. The rest were scattered across the railings on the small upper floor at level with most of the bots' heads. Everyone seemed to be looking at Starscream, not chatting or doing anything, almost as if they had been waiting for him.

Starscream felt a bit unnerved by all this unwanted attention. "Uh..." he drawled out, not sure what to say. Or if he should even say anything. He just stood right in front of the hallway, stalk stiff with his arms and wings spread to the sides, optics darting around the room.

Ratchet stepped past Starscream and joined the rest of the crowd. Now everyone was staring at Starscream, who stood alone against them all.

His gaze moving from bot to bot, Starscream noticed Optimus Prime was present. Just like he had two days ago. Starscream lifted an optical ridge. The bots had mentioned Optimus didn't live in the base. So what was he doing here again? And why were all the humans present, when they hadn't been yesterday?

Starscream, not wanting to look silly, straightened his back and let his arms fall to his sides, his wings flapping gently behind him. He gave the Autobots a faint frown.

"What's going on here?" he finally asked, his voice still a bit groggy.

Optimus stepped forward, the others letting him past. "Starscream," Optimus greeted. "It has been decided that you should return to the base in which you were originally stationed. I have contacted the base and informed the head of the base that you are alive and well. They are looking forward to get you back."

Starscream opened his optics wide up, his pupils narrowing. "I'm getting moved?" he asked confused. "Back to my old place? Away from here?"

"Yes," Optimus replied. "They should be arriving via GroundBridge soon. If there is anything in this base that you feel you need to bring with you, we shall allow you to have it."

Starscream's wings perked, then fluttered excitedly. "I can have the swords? And the puzzles?"

"Sure thing," Ironhide replied. "Nobody else is using them. You may as well have them."

"And I'll be willin' ta make ya more puzzles if ya want," Wheeljack added and rubbed his olfactory sensor shyly with a digit. "Since you seem ta like 'em so much."

Starscream finally gave what seemed to be a genuine smile. "That would be nice. Does this mean I won't have to stay underground all the time?"

"Most likely," Optimus replied. "Where you are going, there are Fliers like you. Others who understand your needs better than we do. Especially one of them, I hope."

Starscream cocked his head. "One of them especially?"

"You'll see," Wheeljack replied and winked. Starscream wasn't sure what to make of that.

Starscream looked around, still standing by the entrance to the hallway, keeping his distance from the crowd. "Is that why everyone is present here right now?" he asked. "To see me off?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Cliffjumper said and grinned. "Everything will go back to normal again."

"Almost," Bumblebee replied.

"It'll be fine, Bee," Goldbug said and pat his brother's shoulder. "Don't you worry."

"Who knows, maybe we'll see you again, Scream," Sideswipe said. "If we do, let's have a fight, huh?"

"Yeah, you're pretty quick on your feet," Sunstreaker said in agreement. "Watching that training of yours yesterday got me pumped!"

Starscream smirked at the small bots. "Perhaps we will someday," he chuckled.

A swishing sound was heard to Starscream's left, and they all looked at the GroundBridge. A green portal had emerged, and three figures seemed to be approaching through the portal. Starscream finally stepped forward a little to get a better look at the approaching figures. Two small bots, walking beside a pretty large bot, probably bigger than Optimus Prime. The big bot and one of the smaller ones had both wings. The last one seemed to have winglets.

The three bots fully emerged from the portal and one could now distinguish paint jobs and detailing, including their faces.

The smaller winged bot was mostly golden, with blue arms and legs, while his pedes and wings were red.

The bot with winglets was blue, white and red, and seemed to have a sports car for an alternate mode. The number 38 was painted on his winglets.

The big winged bot was almost entirely white, though had a red thing peeking from behind his back, between his small white wings.

Starscream stared in wonder at the bot in the middle. The white Flier was almost twice Optimus Prime's size and barely fit under the ceiling of the base, let alone the GroundBridge tunnel. There was something familiar about him.

"These," Optimus started to explain, as the three newcomers stopped just outside the GroundBridge opening, "are Autobots from our secret base in Siberia. Smokescreen," Optimus gestured the bot with winglets, who waved and smiled at Starscream.

"Metalhawk," Optimus continued and gestured the tri-colored Flier, who nodded at him with a blank expression. "And-"

"Skyfire," Starscream interrupted, covering his mouth with both servos while gazing at the large white Flier. "Skyfire, is that you?"

The bots all seemed to stiffen in the room. Even the white Flier seemed surprised.

"Uh, yes, Starscream, it's me," Skyfire confirmed, a bit flabbergasted. "You remember me?"

Starscream removed his servos from his mouth and stepped forward, a smile starting to form on his face. "How could I not remember you? And to think, here I thought I didn't have any friends. I can't believe I forgot about you. I'm so glad you're still alive!"

The much smaller Seeker approached the giant Skyfire without hesitation. His smile softened on his face as he gazed into Skyfire's bright blue optics.

"After all, are we not Amica?"


	12. Amica Endura

CHAPTER 12

Amica Endura

* * *

"Amica?!" was the sound heard throughout the command center by at least half the Autobots present, including the newcomers. The humans looked confused at the bots.

"Uh, Prime," Leon said, "what's an Amica?"

Optimus didn't seem to hear the human's question, apparently just as surprised as the rest of the Autobots.

"Amica Endura," Starscream explained instead, taking everyone by surprise, "is the term for bots who consider themselves best friends. On Cybertron, bots must become Amica before they can become Conjunx. Right?"

"That's... unfortunately true," Skyfire replied, gazing down at Starscream, barely half his height. "I guess you're not the only one who's been forgetting things lately. I heard about your situation. I didn't think we'd ever see you again."

"Yes, I've heard something like that," Starscream replied, his smile faltering. "I heard I've been gone for a long time. How... how long was I gone?"

"We don't remember the exact date," Ironhide replied instead. "But it's been at least six months since we last saw you. Maybe even a year."

Starscream looked back at Ironhide with wide optics. "That long? I've lost almost a whole year and remember nothing as a result of it? What could have happened to me...?"

Starscream felt something on his shoulder and looked up. Skyfire had placed a servo on the small Seeker's shoulder.

"Maybe we'll find out in time," Skyfire said calmly. "Maybe not today or in a few days, but perhaps in weeks or even months. We'll take you to our base in Siberia, and you'll be taken care of there. You can fly, you can train, you can probably eventually even fight. Now, do you have anything you need to pack before we take off?"

Starscream regained his smile as Skyfire talked. His wings fluttered behind him.

"Yes, I'll go get it," Starscream replied and stepped away, turning to Ironhide. "Is it alright if I go grab those swords now?"

"Sure," Ironhide said. "Off you go."

With a smile on his face, Starscream walked off into the hallway alone, to prepare for take-off. Nobody followed him.

Ironhide turned back to Skyfire and crossed his arms. "Amica, huh?" he said skeptically. "Never told us you were Amica."

"It was a long time ago," Skyfire defended. "Before the war even started. Yes, we were friends back then, yes, we became Amica Endura. But we had a fallout not long before the war started. We went on an expedition here to Earth, I got trapped in ice, and Starscream left me behind, first returning four million years later as a Decepticon to defrost me. During that time, I had forgotten about our fallout and, like he does right now, only thought of him as my Amica. But then I remembered. And then I left him for good, to join you Autobots."

"And you were right to do that, big guy," Cliffjumper commented and crossed his arms with a smirk. "Taught the 'Cons a lesson not to mess with us."

"But I never stopped thinking about him," Skyfire admitted. "At least, my Spark doesn't. From what I know, Amica Endura isn't much different from Conjunx Endura. There's still a Spark-bond, there's still a connection between the two bots, and like Starscream said, bots cannot become Conjunx before they've been Amica before. Well, they can, but it's generally looked down on. On Cybertron, at least. I've heard it's different on other planets, like one called Caminus..."

"Okay, we get it, he's your soulmate," Leon interrupted. "Just make sure it doesn't get in the way of the fact that he's you-know-what."

Skyfire made a small frown at the human's interruption but kept his cool.

"To be honest, I didn't think something like this would ever happen," Skyfire said. "Not the amnesia thing, of course, well, that too, but I mean he and I getting back together, after all these years. I'm not sure if I can keep up such a facade, considering our past."

"Well, in this situation, he does not _remember_ the past," Prowl said, having kept silent for a while. "We have decided to transfer him to your base because we knew you were once friends. Granted, the Amica part was new to us, but it still doesn't change the fact that Starscream will do best in your care, no matter what you decide to do with him."

"I know, but..."

"Skyfire, do you hate Starscream?" Optimus suddenly asked.

Skyfire looked at his leadee with a confused look. "Uh, what?"

"Do you hate Starscream?" Optimus repeated. "Does the thought of him having to live with you in the same base drive you mad? Is this arrangement too much for you to handle?"

Skyfire looked offended at the Prime. "What? No, I-"

"Then give him a chance," Optimus replied. "He is not the bot you used to know."

Skyfire looked away with a frown. "You don't know him like I do. Like I _did_. You don't know what happened between us."

"There's something you have to know," Ratchet decided to inform. "At the moment, Starscream's mindset is closer to that of a young Protoform than that of a fully developed bot. Having all his memories wiped form his processor, this behavior is of little surprise to any of us, I hope."

"What's your point?" Cliffjumper asked, unimpressed.

"He may be naive, but he's not gullible," Ratchet explained further. "At the same time, he's skeptical but not paranoid. He's curious, he's confused, he's mesmerized by things that come so easy to the rest of us. As time goes and he remembers more about himself, his mindset may mature more as well, but until then you have to be patient with him."

"What's your _point_?" Cliffjumper repeated, now impatient.

"My point is that someone or something out there caused so much damage to him that his _entire memory_ was erased, practically reducing him to a _Sparkling_. Whoever did this is dangerous, not just to Starscream, but to _us_. And not just his processor, there was a _lot_ of scarring inside and outside of his frame, both old and fresh. Whoever had Starscream in their possession seemed to have dropped him off at our doorstep just after... whatever it was they did."

"Wasn't it just Megatron?" Bumblebee asked. "I mean, he punishes Starscream all the time-"

"Somehow, I don't think this is the work of Megatron this time," Ratchet continued and looked back at the hallway, just in case Starscream had returned and listened in. He didn't seem to be present at the moment. "I have three guesses as to who could have done this to him. Decepticons, aliens, or humans."

"Humans?" Goldbug asked confused. "How would humans be able to do damage like that to him?"

"You'd be surprised at what some people can do," Leon replied. "Not all humans out there are as bot-friendly as we are. In fact, there's one organization in particular which is highly dangerous and wanted by the government. Few surveillance drones have managed to collect data from their bases, and half of the data received revealed they abduct bots no matter faction, and they experiment on them. Change them. Use them for spare parts, research, or simple torture. I think you know which organization I'm talking about."

"You mean MECH," Optimus replied darkly. "We know of them. The Decepticons of the human world."

"You have no idea," Leon replied with a sigh.

Skyfire let out a sigh. "Alright, I get it," he said. "I'll give him a chance, but only because he has amnesia. And because we still don't know what did this to him. But if he remembers again, I can't promise I'll let him stay."

"I would not ask you to either," Optimus replied. "Now, he should be back at any moment. Get the GroundBridge ready."

* * *

Starscream walked giddily down the hallway, bouncing a bit in his steps as he made his way to the training room. Just then he turned around and realized he was all alone. He hummed and looked around, at the ring, the ranged weapons, the melee weapons, and the shooting range.

Then he looked down at his arms. An idea sprung to mind. A very bold, probably dangerous idea.

"Well, no one's watching," he said quietly to himself and smirked. "May as well see what you can do."

Walking past the weapons racks, he made his way to the shooting range. He lifted his arms to activate his null-rays, but they didn't come out. He hummed. Perhaps he had to lift them in a specific way to access them?

Starscream lowered and raised his arms in various ways, in different positions and in different angles. The arms remained unarmed.

Starscream snarled, getting frustrated and glanced briefly behind him. "Grrr, come on, you useless pieces of junk! The one time where I want you to come out, you decide to stay in?! Useless..."

A thought appeared in his head. He chuckled.

"Of course, those two times, I was being cornered and threatened. I'm alone and safe right now, so why come out now? This certainly is troublesome. Did I really have this kind of gimmick _all_ the time?"

Starscream closed his optics, took a deep vent, then exhaled. He focused on his arms, just as he focused on his wings when he learned to fly and transform. This was the same thing, just with his arms only.

"Focus on the arms," he whispered to himself. "The arms... the arms..."

Starscream felt a strange movement on his arms and opened his optics, looking down. The silver null-ray guns had appeared on his arms like they had the other two times, but this time by his own willpower, and they didn't disappear right away like the other two times.

"Nice," Starscream said triumphantly and gazed at the still target at the end of the shooting range. "Time to have some _real_ target practice."

He raised his arms and pointed both guns at the target ten meters away. Though there was no visible trigger to pull, Starscream could somehow feel something in his servos.

He clenched his fists and watched as a pair of pink lasers shot out of the nozzles. They hit the target, and completely destroyed it. The surrounding area was virtually unharmed though.

Starscream looked on, surprised at the initial power of the blast. He looked behind him in nervousness. It had been pretty loud, despite the minimal damage. He hoped none of the Autobots had heard the commotion. At least now he knew how to handle his null-rays.

Deciding he knew enough, Starscream lowered his arms and in some natural way retracted his guns back into his arms. He walked over to the melee weapons rack and searched until he found what he was looking for. The two beautiful red shortswords that he had used the previous day. He definitely would not leave without those.

They were his. He knew this now. They belonged to him. They had belonged to him before he lost his memories. He must have lost them some way before mysteriously disappearing for six months, and the Autobots had then found them and picked them up, adding them to their weapons list.

But now, he had found them again, and he was never going to part with them again. They were among the last weapons crafted in Vos before the war started. He knew that much.

He was from Vos. He had been created in Vos. The city of Fliers. He remembered it now.

These blades were of the finest quality among Vos weaponry. They had to stay with him, one of the last Vosians. He was uncertain if anyone else from Vos was still alive, but even if so, it wouldn't be many.

Having retrieved his swords, Starscream placed them on some kind of sub-sheaths on his back, invisible to the human eye but very much there and able to keep hold of a weapon.

Afterwards, he left the training room, swords on his back, and headed to his room in the hallway. Though it had really just been a one-night-stand-room, since he had only slept in it for one night. Still, he liked the puzzles Wheeljack had given him, and he wanted to bring them with him.

So he picked up each metal puzzle and found the so-called 'sub-space' Wheeljack had talked about, and tucked the small puzzles in it. Afterwards he did the same with the jigsaw puzzles, the dented rectangles, the holed planks and the strange cylinder which he hadn't looked at yet, and finally the color cube, still not fixed yet. He supposed he would get time to look at it further when he arrived in the new base.

Having nothing else of personal worth or interest in the room, Starscream turned around and was about to leave the room.

When suddenly he found himself strapped to a table.

The surrounding area was covered in darkness. He couldn't move even an inch on the table. He had a massive headache and pain in his chest.

Just ahead, several pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, and a malicious chuckle sounded from seemingly everywhere around him.

"_That was fun! What should we do next?_"

"_His eyes! Take out his eyes!_"

Starscream stiffened by the notion, especially as a large drill appeared from above the table.

"No, stop it," Starscream shrieked. "Not my eyes, please! Leave me alone!"

The drill was activated and started closing in, aiming at Starscream's right optic.

"_Eyes! Eyes! Eyes! Eyes! Pop! Pop! Pop! Eyes! Pop! Crack!_"

"No, no, no, no," Starscream begged and closed his optics. Something pulled his optical lids apart, forcing the optics to stay open. The drill was a mere inch from his optic.

"NOOOOO!" Starscream screamed.

The drill made contact with the optic. It shattered. Inexplicable pain shot through his head, barely deafening his screams of agony.

"Starscream!" someone's voice called.

Starscream was shaken awake. He gasped and jumped back, able to move again, claws at the ready. What he saw in front of him was not darkness.

"Wheeljack?" Starscream said uncertain and felt on his right optic. It was still there, whole, but thumping with pain. "What happened?"

"You took a pretty long time to arrive," Wheeljack replied. "I decided to go see what was taking ya so long. Then I heard ya screamin' from yer room. You were just standin' here, shouting and shuddering. Did you have a wake nightmare?"

Starscream cocked a ridge as he was beginning to calm down. "A wake nightmare?"

"Yeah, like a nightmare, but while you're awake, during the day."

Starscream thought for a moment. "Wouldn't that be called a _daymare_?" he asked.

Wheeljack lifted a digit as if to say something, but then paused and hummed. "That's actually not a bad term for it," he said and nodded to himself in agreement. "Makes sense, actually. Yeah, alright, you had a daymare?"

"I guess," Starscream replied. "It was so sudden. I had just finished packing and was about to leave, and then... I wasn't here anymore. I... I don't want to talk about it."

"No need to," Wheeljack said and laid a servo on the Seeker's shoulder, in an attempt to comfort. "Are you ready to leave? Or do ya need a minute?"

"I think... I need a minute," Starscream replied, and just stood there.

"Alright," Wheeljack said and was about to leave, so Starscream could be alone for a bit. Starscream stopped him before he could, though.

"Wheeljack?" Starscream said.

"Yeah?" Wheeljack replied.

Starscream started rubbing his servos while looking at the floor, avoiding optic contact with Wheeljack.

"Do you... Would you..." Starscream reset his vocalizer. "Will you be... my friend?"

Wheeljack's headlights flashed at the question. "Uh, what?"

Starscream forced himself to look at Wheeljack. "Will you be my friend?" he repeated quietly, still rubbing his servos together in nervousness.

Wheeljack blinked and cocked his head. "Uh, why?"

Starscream swallowed a lump in his throat. "Well, I don't think I have any friends other than Skyfire," he said quietly, again pulling his gaze away from Wheeljack. "And from what I can see with you bots, it doesn't seem to be normal not to have any friends, or to only have one friend."

Wheeljack let his arms fall to his sides and looked attentive at Starscream. "Okay, but why me?"

"It's just..." Starscream hesitated for a bit before continuing. "...you've been so nice to me these last two days, even though I basically just dropped on your doorstep two days ago. I don't really feel very welcome here, most of the bots seem to be afraid of me or making fun of me. I don't know what kind of bot I was before, but it hurts knowing I don't have anyone I can trust here. But you are different. You, Ironhide and Ratchet. You don't make fun of me. You don't mock me. You're not afraid of me. You helped me, you allowed me to fly, you let me remember how to fight, and you made those puzzles for me. And you came to check on me when I were having bad dreams. I feel bad for not returning the favor. So... will you be my friend?"

Wheeljack smiled under his mask. "Sure, why not?"

Starscream's optics practically glittered as he put on a smile in response to Wheeljack's answer. Wheeljack pat Starscream on the shoulder and gestured to the hallway.

"Come on now, let's get you back out there. It's time for you to go home now."


	13. Autobot Outpost Alpha-Omega

CHAPTER 13

Autobot Outpost Alpha-Omega

* * *

Starscream had only just set his pede outside his room when Wheeljack turned back inside.

"Wait, you forgot this," Wheeljack said and returned, holding his servo out.

Starscream turned and looked at the other's servo. It was the weird soft-looking ball thing, a soft light blue with pale pink stripes and light yellow spots scattered across the ball. It seemed to be an organic material of some sort.

"Oh, right, that thing," Starscream replied and waved a servo. "That's alright, you keep it."

Wheeljack shook his head. "No, no, this is yours," he insisted. "I made it specifically for you. Have you even tried it?"

"I don't even know what it is, let alone what its purpose is."

"All you have to do is hold it."

"Hold it? That's it? It's not a puzzle."

"Neither is the cylinder, but you seem to have taken that with you."

Starscream squinted and looked away. "Because it's solid. That thing isn't. What even is it?"

"Just hold it! Please?" Wheeljack tried looking at Starscream with big, glossy, innocent-looking optics. Starscream held back a cringe, though without knowing why.

"Okay, alright, fine," Starscream said with a sneer and held out a servo. Wheeljack promptly handed over the ball.

Starscream studied the ball in his servo and squeezed it. It was even softer than it looked. Not fuzzy like velvet, but smooth, and the harder he squeezed, the ball seemed to misshape itself in the spaces between his digits. As he relaxed his servo, the ball returned to its original round shape immediately. He hummed and squeezed it again, subconsciously trying to pop or break it, but it seemed virtually indestructible.

Starscream looked up at Wheeljack for answers. Wheeljack understood the silent question, his optics gleaming.

"It's called a stress relief ball. It's made of rubber and some other strong, flexible materials," Wheeljack explained. "No matter how hard you squeeze it, it won't pop. It's also resistant to sharp points to an extent, so your claws shouldn't ruin it too easily either."

Starscream hummed, continuing to squeeze the ball between both of his servos now. "Why did you make this? It's not a puzzle," he repeated and looked at the colorful, patterned little ball

"I know," Wheeljack replied. "I noticed you fidget a lot. I thought it might help keep your hands occupied. And it's small, so it won't take up much space in your subspace."

"How thoughtful of you," Starscream replied and looked at Wheeljack, while still squeezing the rubber ball. "Not sure how much it's going to help though."

"I also used a special material to make it silent when you squeeze it," Wheeljack explained. "So you can squeeze it without it distracting you or anyone else. It's an Earth invention, mostly for people who have problems with fidgeting, like yourself. Their balls often make noises though, which is distracting. So I made one that doesn't. Hope you like it, or that it at least will help you in some way."

Starscream let out a small hum of amusement. "I hope so too. I'll keep it in mind. Thank you again, Wheeljack."

Wheeljack nodded and pat Starscream on the shoulder. "You're welcome," he said and started moving. "Now, let's go return to the others."

They walked side by side back to the command center, Starscream still absently squeezing the stress relief ball in his servo while walking. The bots and humans still stood waiting for them, still without chattering. Starscream's grip on the ball tightened by the many stares.

"Quit staring," Starscream said quietly and looked away, feeling a slight warmth rising in his face. "It's embarrassing."

Despite the continued stares, Starscream walked on, ball in servo, heading towards Skyfire, while Wheeljack went to join the others. Starscream paused just in front of Skyfire and gazed up at him, his frown turning into a soft smile.

Skyfire smiled back at the smaller Flier. "Are you ready to go?" Skyfire asked calmly.

Starscream nodded. "I am," he replied. "I've got everything I need." He turned around and looked over the bots, until his gaze found Wheeljack. Starscream smiled at the engineer, and this one winked back at the Seeker. They would keep in touch, most definitely.

Starscream turned his gaze to Ironhide, and his smile became smaller. "Thank you for letting me stay here, Ironhide," Starscream said. "And for helping me remember to fly."

Ironhide gave a small smile. "No problem," he replied. "Just doing my job as the head of Metroplex City."

Starscream nodded at the red bot. "Prowl," he said and looked at the deputy, "thank you for helping me remember how to fight."

Prowl nodded, though without smiling, like always. "Just doing my part," he replied.

Starscream's gaze went to Ratchet. "Ratchet," he said, "thank you for repairing me and teaching me so many things about Energon, bots and everything. I appreciate information a lot these days."

In a rare moment, Ratchet cracked just the faintest smile, for a very brief moment, before returning to his normal stone-faced expression. "Take good care of yourself, Starscream," he said. "I mean it. Don't make me come over there."

Starscream stiffled a chuckle and looked over the rest of the bots. "I'm glad you all took me in, even if only for a couple of days," he said to everyone. "I still don't remember much about myself, but I think I know enough now to help you out against the Decepticons. I hope," he added in a whisper to himself. "I hope we can keep in touch. Maybe I'll stop by here some day. See how things go. But for now, I'll go with Skyfire and the others and get used to flying again."

Starscream turned his back to the Autobots in the command center, instead looking up at Skyfire. "I'm ready to go now," the Seeker informed with his wings flapping exciredly behind hin.

Skyfire nodded. His gaze briefly fell on something behind Starscream. "You go on ahead with the others, I need to do something real quick."

Starscream's smile faltered and his wings stopped flapping for a moment, but soon flapped gently again. "Okay," he replied and started walking. "But I won't leave without you. I'll wait up ahead."

"You do that," Skyfire replied and gazed at Metalhawk and Smokescreen. "You guys go wait with him. I'll be right behind you."

The two bots nodded silently and walked beside Starscream as they began moving through the GroundBridge portal, though without going all the way through. They stopped just before they felt the unnerving feeling of being torn apart, and looked back at the small command center, waiting for Skyfire to finish. Starscream couldn't hear what they were talking about or who Skyfire was talking to. He gazed uncertain at Metalhawk.

"So...you're Metalhawk, huh?" Starscream said, trying to start a conversation.

Metalhawk didn't answer, seemingly not much for conversation. Starscream sighed and started squeezing his stress relief ball again. This would be a long wait.

* * *

"Did you want to say something, Wheeljack?" Skyfire asked.

"Yeah, I was up all last night making something that might help us in this situation," Wheeljack said and pulled something out of his subspace. "At some point he's going to meet Decepticons. We all know this. Pit, even he knows it. So I decided to make this to make everything a little easier. Hopefully," he added to himself.

The bots, especially Skyfire, studied the thing in Wheeljack's servos. The big Flier hummed.

"I don't know," Skyfire said. "I mean, I can see the purpose of it, but do you really think it will be enough?"

"I think it'll be plenty. Here's how it works..."

* * *

"A Pretender, huh?" Starscream replied. "I didn't know bots like you existed."

"We are few and far between," Metalhawk replied. "My comrades Diver, Lander and Phoenix are stationed elsewhere. We do have a few Headmasters in our base though."

"Headmasters?" Starscream replied. "What are those?"

"A rather new concept, like the Pretenders, only it's humans wearing special suits to become the heads of their own Transformers."

"That... sounds really creepy," Starscream replied with a frown. "Is there anything else I should know about your base?"

"Well, we got a bot call Skylynx," Smokescreen went in. "He's a... well, not really sure what we call his kind. Sort of, Triple-Changer plus beastformer plus multibot-kinda-something. He turns into a dragon, as well as a bird and a lynx seperate from each other. As well as a cargo plane."

Starscream cocked his head at the description. "That... sounds a bit complicated."

"I don't blame you. You'd have to see the guy to believe it."

"Believe what?" Skyfire asked as he arrived in the GroundBridge tunnel, catching everyone's attention.

"Oh, we were just giving Starscream a heads-up about some of our team members," Smokescreen replied with a smirk. "We can't let him go there without knowing."

Skyfire chuckled. "Good thinking, guys. Sorry to make you all wait for so long. Are we ready to move on?"

Starscream smiled and nodded eagerly. "We are."

Without another word, the four bots walked side by side, Starscream just in front of Skyfire to his left, with the other two walking on each side of the big bot, through the green and white tunnel, feeling their bodies warping and their minds getting slightly dizzy. It soon ended, and Starscream could see the end of the tunnel. A few bots stood up ahead, waiting for them.

As they exited the tunnel, Starscream found himself in another command center, though this one considerably chiller than the other one, though not so cold that it was unbearable. Rather, it was refreshing from the heat of the desert base.

There were railings here too, though rather than going all around the command center, they were situated on one side of the walls, the biggest part of it seeming like a sort of living room area with couches, armchairs and small televisions. Starscream noticed three small humans standing by the railings, observing him like the bots present.

Taking a look at the bots, he saw a small round green bot with a blue visor and what seemed to be a mouth mask, with a yellow face and red helm. Next to him stood a bot that looked almost identical to Prowl, albeit smaller and more blue-gray in certain places where Prowl was white. He seemed to be younger than Prowl, too, perhaps around the same age as Bumblebee and Goldbug, however old they may be.

Starscream looked perplexed at the small 'Prowl' and blinked, cocking his head. "Prowl?" he asked, even though he knew it wasn't him.

The small 'Prowl' shook his head and smiled shyly. "No, not Prowl," he replied. "My name is Bluestreak. I'm Praxian, like Prowl, though."

"Praxian?" Starscream repeated. "You mean..."

"They were both created in a city called Praxus," Skyfire replied for him. "Some cities created bots with very specific designs."

"Like Vosians with wings?" Starscream asked. "Like me?"

"Yes, like that," Skyfire replied. "I wasn't created in Vos, but I did live there for many years. It was there that we met, you and I."

Starscream's optics widened. "We did? Yeah, we did, didn't we? We were scientists, weren't we?"

Skyfire nodded. "That's right," he replied. "We were skilled scientists and good friends. Been that for several million years, actually."

Starscream smiled at him, then turned his attention back to the last member of the team. His smile was replaced by a gasp as he saw a huge white dragon with a blue underside, just small enough to be able to wander the command center and seemingly through the tunnels located along the walls.

"You must be Skylynx, I assume?" Starscream greeted cautiously.

"That is correct," Skylynx replied. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm rather new here, I've heard a lot about you though. Hope we can get along during your stay here."

"I hope so too," Starscream replied, a bit nervous about this huge creature. "Don't you have a bot mode?"

"This _is_ my bot mode," Skylynx replied. "My alternate mode is a plane. I can also seperate into two components."

Skylynx demonstrated by letting his blue underside click loose from the white body, which stood on a pair of red legs like a bird. The blue component seemed to loosely resemble a lynx, emphasis on _loosely_. Starscream gaped at the sight.

"So, which one of you is Skylynx now?" Starscream asked uncertain.

"We both are," the lynx and the bird said at the same time, causing the Seeker to perk. The two components immediately reunited into the dragon. "But usually I am in this form. It's not easy controlling two components at the same time, though that is something _I_, the great Skylynx, excell at. But even with my great skill, it spends a lot of energy, so it's better to stay as one being."

Starscream scratched his head, still not completely sure how Skylynx functioned. "Okay," he said, instead turning to the small chubby green bot. "What's your name?"

"I'm Cosmos," the green bot replied. "I'm the team's scout, especially from outer space."

"Especially?"

"Yes, I turn into a UFO, at least the kind they show on human TV."

"That reminds me," Starscream said, already walking away from Cosmos, over to the railings, "those three over there are humans, right?"

"Yeah, those are Cab, Shuta and Minerva," Bluestreak replied. "They're our Junior Headmasters."

Starscream stopped before he reached all the way to the railings. "Those are the Headmasters you told me about?" he said surprised, looking at Smokescreen, who nodded. "I expected something... more. You're all about as big as Amy."

"Who's Amy?" the one who seemed to be a girl, probably Minerva, asked.

"Some girl who visited me a lot in the other base," Starscream replied. "Strange thing, she was. She looked a bit like you. I think. Are you a girl too?"

"That's right," Minerva replied and giggled shyly. "I'm Minerva. Nice to meet you, Starscream."

"I'm Shuta," one of the other humans greeted, having dark brown hair. "As a Headmaster I'm called Goshooter though."

"And I'm Cab," the third human greeted, having long bluish green hair and wearing a headband. "Nice to meet you, Starscream."

Starscream studied the humans and took in their names. "Are you two girls too?" he asked.

They looked surprised for a moment, then shook their heads synchronized. "No, no! We're boys! Not girls. Boys."

Starscream cocked his head in confusion. "Boys? Ugh, why do I keep learning new terms for humans? You're so comlicated."

Before they could answer him, Starscream turned away from the humans and returned his attention to Skyfire. "So, who's in charge of this place?"

"I am, actually," Skyfire replied. "Not really my own idea, but Prime thought I would be good for the job."

"He probably just chose you because of your size," Skylynx replied offended.

"You're bigger than me though, I don't think size is the key here..."

"Hey, um," Starscream said, calling for attention. "I know it's still early, but, can you show me where my room is? I want to know where I can go when I need to sleep or be alone."

"Right," Skyfire said. "Bluestreak, why don't you show him our spare quarters?"

"Sure thing," Bluestreak replied and gestured Starscream to follow him, which he did.

They went through a series of hallways which seemed to house both quarters and storage rooms. At one point, they also crossed a room that Starscream recognized as a training room, though it looked vastly different from the one in Metroplex. Perhaps he would check it out later.

Eventually they stopped by a closed door, which Bluestreak opened, not sliding aside, but lifting the door up until it was high enough for Starscream to enter through. This place seemed to be lower tech than in Ironhide's base.

"This is your room," Bluestreak announced and gestured the room with his servo. "Make yourself at home. Oh, also, it may have been early noon back in Metroplex City, but here it's actually late evening. We were all preparing to go to recharge, especially the humans, they're still young and growing. Skylynx is on nightwatch duty tonight. I know you probably just woke up, so if you can't fall asleep, he'll be awake to keep you company, and then it may be easier for you to fall asleep next night."

"I think I'm good," Starscream replied and stepped into his room, which looked almost exactly the same as the room back in the desert. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I can try to catch up tonight. But thanks for the information."

"No problem," Bluestreak replied and was about to leave, when he seemed to realize something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Welcome to Autobot Outpost Alpha-Omega. That's the name of our base here in Siberia. I think you'll like it here, it's much different from the desert you're used to."

Starscream gave the young bot a smirk, just before the latter closed the door and left the Seeker alone.

"Looking forward to see it."


	14. Stowaway

CHAPTER 14

Stowaway

* * *

Starscream checked out his new room before laying down for the evening. It seemed almost identical to his old room, except the desk was empty and there was more floor space. Plenty of room to walk around in and stretch your limbs.

First Starscream pulled forth his swords and put them on the two top rows of the shelf, which didn't have any datapads on them. Afterwards, he opened his subspace and took out the various puzzles and put them on the table. He put down the stress relief ball as well, to have both servos free. He laid all the metal rods puzzles in a pile for themselves in one corner of the table, then laid the jigsaw puzzle pieces in a pile in the other corner of the table, followed by the rectangles and planks. Afterwards he put the color cube in the middle of the table, sided by the cylinder and the stress relief ball.

Curious, he picked up the cylinder to see what exactly it was. He realized he had forgotten to check it out. As he lifted it in the air, faint rattling could be heard from the cylinder. He looked at one end of the cylinder and looked through a small glass container with a lot of tiny colorful pearls in it. He hummed, uncertain what purpose they served.

He turned the cylinder and looked at the other end to see if there was a case with pearls in that end as well. What he saw surprised him.

Instead of a container, he looked through a special lens that formed a highly detailed image with the colors of the pearls. Curious, Starscream shook the cylinder a little, and suddenly the image changed, the pattern and colors having been rearranged in another beautiful image.

"Fascinating," Starscream said. "Well, it's not a puzzle, but still... fascinating."

"It is, isn't it?"

Starscream almost jumped out of his armor as a sudden small voice sounded below him. He almost lost his grip around the cylinder, but caught it in time before it fell on the floor. He turned around to see who had talked. What he saw shocked him.

"Amy?!" Starscream exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Amy stood right by Starscream's pedes, still wearing that same pink dress she always did, and her usual smile still adorning her face.

"I followed you," Amy replied.

"But how?" Starscream asked, calming his tone. "You didn't walk through the GroundBridge with us, the Autobots would have said something... wouldn't they?"

"I climbed into your subspace thing," Amy explained and chuckled. "No one noticed me."

Starscream was taken aback. "When? I didn't notice you climbing in there, and I would've noticed if you did."

"When I snuck down here this morning to see you, I heard the other bots talking about moving you to another base," Amy explained further. "I didn't want to be away from you, so I snuck into your room and climbed up into your subspace while you were asleep. Then I just waited until we arrived here and you were alone."

Starscream hummed and tapped his chin with his thumb and pointer. His optics widened for a moment. "How did you get into my room? I closed it after you left, and only a bot can open those doors."

Amy's smile seemed to falter for a moment, her eyes widening a bit. "Oh, I...uh..." The perplexed expression was brief, and soon her smile returned, though this time rather forced than genuine. "I crawled in through a vent shaft. Right above your bed, it wasn't a long fall. You bots have big vent shafts."

Starscream frowned with skepticism and hummed, crossing his arms. He rolled his optics and let out a sigh. "Are you sure your... parents, you said? Are you sure they won't be worried about you? You just said last night they would worry and come looking for you."

"That was back in the desert," Amy replied, still smiling, now more genuine. "Here they won't look for us. Or, for me. Sure, they may be worried, but I, uh... I left them a note saying I was, uh... out on camp? So I would be gone for, like, a few months?"

"You don't sound so sure," Starscream said and kneeled down, holding out a servo. "Here, I'm getting tired of having to bend my neck all the time."

Amy's face seemed to light up by the gesture and eagerly climbed into Starscream's servo. As soon as she was onboard, Starscream rose back onto his pedes, and Amy seemed to fall flat on the palm by the sudden speed upwards. As Starscream stood straight, Amy climbed back onto her feet and gazed up at Starscream, now near eye-level with each other, and smiled widely.

"Wow," she keened and looked down. "I've never been so high up before. I've only looked at you bots from a distance, you're the first one I've actually been in contact with. This is awesome."

Starscream couldn't help but crack a faint smile. "I suppose you've never met someone as great and cool as me, have you?" he said.

Amy smiled back and chuckled. "No, you're the coolest, Starscream," she said. "I'm so happy to be your friend." She paused, her smile falling for a bit. "I mean, we _are_ friends, aren't we?"

Starscream blinked in surprise. "Friends?" he repeated and thought for a bit. "Uh... okay? I guess? We can be friends? Uh... yeah. Okay, we're friends, I guess."

Amy's smile returned, having evolved into a wide grin reaching above her eyes, which were gleaming like stars in the night sky. She let out a whine and bounced up and down while waving her arms. Starscream moped at the reaction, but then cracked a smile of his own, though without jumping up and down.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a chuckle.

Amy calmed down and resumed a more calm position. "Sorry, I'm just really happy to hear that from you. I don't really have any friends, they all think I'm weird and avoid me."

Starscream's smile faltered and was replaced by a soft line. "You too, huh?" he replied. "Seems you were right about before."

Amy cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You said people don't like people who think or act differently than them. I haven't met a lot of humans, so I can't say I know anything about them. But I feel like you don't act or think the same way others do. All the other humans I've met were scared or wary of me. Yet you aren't. Why is that?"

Amy's smile disappeared, replaced with her own soft, neutral line. "Can't say I'm sure," she replied and held her hands behind her back, looking at Starscream's palm. "But others might say there's something wrong with me. That I'm not right in the head. I guess it makes sense. It doesn't seem logical to follow after a giant, scary alien robot. But you don't seem dangerous to me, Starscream. Just different. You have issues, I got them too. I guess because you remind me a little bit about myself, I was drawn to you. Like a moth to a flame."

"A moth to a flame?" Starscream repeated.

"It's an expression. It basically means that you're interested in something dangerous, since a flame would burn a moth to a crisp. At least, that's what I think the saying means."

Starscream hummed and gazed at the table. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all." Though Amy did kneel down and grabbed onto Starscream's digits before he sat down by the table and let his servo down to allow Amy to get off, which she did.

"Now," Starscream began, "do you know what this cylinder thing is?" He grabbed hold of the cylinder and shook it a little, making a rattling sound.

"Yeah, that's a kaleidoscope," Amy replied with a smile. "I guess you already know what it does. Simple, but pretty, right?"

"I suppose," Starscream replied and put the kaleidoscope back down. His servo lingered before picking up the color cube. "Do you know these?"

"Ooh, a Rubik's Cube!" Amy said excitedly. "I love that. Have you managed to solve it yet?"

"No, not really," Starscream replied and gazed between the cube and Amy. "Do you know how to solve it?"

"Yeah, I can do it in three minutes," Amy replied and fidgeted a bit with her hands. "Though that one is a bit too big for me to solve..."

"Can you tell me how to solve it?"

Amy held her chin with her thumb and pointer, speculating. "It's not really something you can just tell a person," she explained. "The first layer is pretty simple, anyone can fix that. But for the remaining two layer, you need to use algorithms."

"Algorithms?"

"Yeah, specific steps, kind of like instructions on a recipe or such. But they're pretty difficult to remember unless you have a special way to remember it."

"Such as...?"

Amy let her arms fall and started pacing back and forth on the table, glancing between Starscream and the table, while she talked. "In my case, I see the algorithms as sentences and words. The first two algorithms are mirrors of one another, I use the right algorithm as the standard, and the left algorithm..."

Amy explained very detailed about how to solve the so-called Rubik's Cube. Starscream tried to pay attention, but Primus did that girl talk a lot. From what he remembered, she didn't usually talk this much. Perhaps it was because in the past few days, she could only stay with him for a short amount of time before she had to return to her parents. Now that she was apparently here to stay, she had plenty of time to talk.

At some point Starscream lost track of what she said and just dazed off. He started thinking about things. He thought about Wheeljack. Now that they were friends, how would they stay in touch? Maybe the base had a communicator of some sort so he could call the base in Metroplex when he wanted. He also thought about Skyfire. How could he have forgotten about his best, perhaps even only friend ever? As soon as he had laid optics on the big bot, he knew he looked familiar, and suddenly his name had come to him as clear as the sun. He could feel in his Spark that this mech was special.

Special. Starscream stiffened. Someone special. He recalled Ratchet saying something about someone special. But what was it? Was it that thing he called interface? What could that be? Would they be sharing thoughts together? Memories, perhaps? He'd have to ask Skyfire sometime. Interface sounded interesting.

"Starscream?" Amy's voice sounded.

Starscream jolted upright. He looked down at the girl who stood with crossed arms and a frown.

"Have you been listening to me?" she asked, seemingly irritated.

"Uh... yeah, I have," Starscream lied, without really knowing why. "You see the algorithms as sentences and words, you say something about a rue and a... a rock?"

Amy sighed and let her arms fall to her sides. "You didn't listen to me at all, did you?"

Starscream lowered his head and looked away, his claws thrumming each other. "Sorry," he said.

Amy's frown was replaced by a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to people dazing off when I talk. I'm told I talk a bit too much sometimes. And like I said before, you can't teach someone else your own techniques on how to solve the Rubik's Cube. It's the same algorithms, but people remember them in different ways. If you want, I can write them down for you?"

Starscream looked back at Amy with thought. "No, I think I'll try to sort it out myself," he said with a smile. "Wheeljack told me only the best and most genius bots can solve it without help from others. I want to be one of those special bots."

Amy's grin returned. "Of course you do! Who'd want to be normal and boring? I had to look up the algorithms on the internet and memorize them before I could solve it myself. I still needed help. But I feel like I cheated by doing that. I hope you can solve it on your own, your very own. I'm actually glad you didn't listen or understood what I just said. That means I didn't do anything to help you, and you won't feel like a cheat!"

Amy turned away from Starscream and went over to the stress relief ball. Starscream smirked at her. "You really are a weird girl," Starscream commented. "But I guess you're alright. Even if you're stalking me."

Amy felt on the ball, about half her height, and pushed it down to misshape it a bit, though not as much as Starscream could. "I'm not a stalker, stalkers are creepy," she said and climbed onto the ball, which didn't return to its round shape, as she was apparently heavy enough to keep it down. "I'm not creepy, I'm cute. Right?" She gazed at him with a big, toothy smile and glittering eyes.

Starscream felt a bit unnerved by the expression. "I don't know what 'cute' is, but that expression you're making is kind of creepy. Please stop it."

Amy loosened her expression immediately, her smile disappearing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to creep you out."

"You're forgiven," Starscream replied and studied her on the ball. "Are you going to sleep there?"

"That was my plan. I didn't bring anything with me, not even my toothbrush. It was kind of a spur of the moment to go with you."

Starscream decided not to ask what a toothbrush was. "Well, I suppose you can just make yourself at home here," he said and rose from his chair and walked over to his new berth. "I'm going to go to recharge now."

"Alright, goodnight, Starscream," Amy replied and settled into her soft, bouncy new bed.

Starscream sat down on his berth and hauled his legs up. "I get why I'm tired, I seem to get nightmares all the time," Starscream said. "But why are you tired now? Isn't it still morning, or noon or something in Metroplex City?"

"It is probably still daytime in America," Amy replied without looking at Starscream. "But like that bot Bluestreak said, it's practically night here. I've been up late last night, so I didn't get much sleep either. Not that tired yet, but I guess it's better to get used to the time difference here if we're gonna live here now."

Starscream hummed and closed his optics. "Well, in that case, goodnight, Amy."

Without another word, the two of them fell asleep at the same time.


	15. Land of Snow

CHAPTER 15

Land of Snow

* * *

Starscream opened his optics and found himself strapped to a table. Again. He faintly remembered having gone through intense pain here at least twice already. And now was going to be his third.

He felt his head thumping with pain, especially in his optics and the back of the head. His chest also felt sore. He hoped dearly that they would let him off this time, just leave him alone and let him rest.

They didn't.

The menacingly glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, even more of them than previously. He could count at least four sets of eyes staring at him.

"_What should we drill in this time?_"

"_How about changing it up a little?_"

"_Ooh, I know! Let's see how far his arms can stretch!_"

"_And his legs! Don't forget the legs!_"

Suddenly the straps holding Starscream's arms and legs parted from the table. But instead of releasing him, they simply began moving away from the table in each their own direction. Further and further away, still with a tight hold on Starscream's limbs. He still could not turn his head and see what was happening. But he could feel it.

He could feel as the arms and legs were beginning to stretch beyond their reaching point. He could feel as they were slowly being pushed to their limits and beyond.

He could feel as the wirings began to snap.

He started shrieking as the pain intensified the further they stretched.

"Stop this, please!" he groaned, but he could hardly speak. Even his screams were strained. It was getting hard to vent, as his body was being stretched out of proportion.

The pain just kept coming, the stretch kept going. It was slow, very slow, and very painful.

And suddenly, the limbs gave up.

The wirings, cables and mesh was torn from the torso.

Energon spilled on the floor.

Insane pain coursed through Starscream's entire body.

Starscream let out a deafening scream, followed by silence.

"Starscream! Wake up!"

Starscream jolted awake and sat up with a start, looking frantically around. He was back in his room. He looked down and saw his legs were still attached to his body. He shuddered and glanced to his left and right to see his arms were still there as well. He looked to his left and saw Amy, still laying on the stress relief ball, but with a concerned expression adorning her face as she looked at him.

Starscream looked down and buried his face in his servos, trying to calm down from the experience.

"Are you alright?" Amy asked with concern in her voice. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Starscream was glad she didn't ask if he had had a nightmare. Primus, he hated when they asked that. Why else would a bot scream and... whatever else it was he did, in their sleep, if they weren't having a nightmare? It was always a stupid question. Good thing Amy seemed to be perceptive and sensible enough to at least not state the obvious.

"I... I don't know," he groaned and rubbed his servos down his face before looking at Amy. "I don't think so. You don't need to know."

"Okay," Amy replied and shifted so she was looking at the ceiling instead. "I just want you to know, Starscream, you're the only friend I have at the moment. The only one I can trust. I won't tell anyone anything. So if there's ever anything you need to talk about, or if you need to rant about something, you can always talk to me. I'm a good listener. As strange as it may sound, given how much I talk myself. So... think about it. Okay?"

Starscream nodded and hummed in response. He gazed at the clock by his shelf. 1.17 AM. Again. Probably just a coincidence.

Starscream laid back down on the berth and closed his optics, trying to forget the dream.

"Amy?" he called quietly. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you. For waking me. If I have another nightmare, please wake me again."

"Okay, I will. Though, I actually called you for almost a minute before you woke up. I'll try, but it doesn't seem like there's much I can do. Except being your listener. I guess. But I'll do my best, Starscream."

There was silence for a while. Amy listened. There was a faint snore. She smiled and closed her own eyes.

"Sleep well, Starscream. Hope things get easier for you tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning, Starscream woke up by himself for once. He heard a faint shuffling which brought him back to consciousness, but kept his optics closed as he was still tired. After a few minutes, he opened his optics into slits and stretched his arms and legs, letting out a groan. He sat up and looked at the clock, which said 9.57 AM. He had slept for almost nine hours since waking from the nightmare. No one had disturbed him since, and he actually felt rested for once.

Hauling his legs onto the floor, Starscream's gaze fell on the desk. Amy was absent from the ball she had slept on. He searched the room with his optics to see if she was hiding somewhere, or if there was a vent shaft somewhere that she might have crawled through. There didn't seem to be one, and he couldn't spot her anywhere.

"Hmm, I wonder," he mused to himself and reached into his subspace, first the left, then the right. They were empty. "Where the Pit did she go?"

Starscream stood up and took a closer look around, careful where he stepped in case she was somewhere on the floor. He searched through the shelf, behind the datapads and clock, among the puzzles, below the desk, under the berth. Amy was nowhere to be found.

"Strange," he said to himself. A thought came to mind. "Maybe she isn't real. Maybe she's just a figment of my imagination. That's the only explanation. How else would she be able to get out of this room? Unless..."

Unless what? Unless there was some hidden door somewhere in the room?

Starscream scoffed at the air and decided it had just been a dream. That every time that girl Amy appeared, it had just been a daydream.

Deciding that, Starscream walked over to the door and opened it via the button beside it. It slid aside and Starscream passed through to the hallway, closed it and made his way to the command center.

He got lost a couple times before he eventually found his way there. Having only just arrived in the base and finding its hallways more complex than the one simple hallway in Metroplex, it was natural he couldn't find his way around yet. He ended up in at least two dead ends before finding the right way to the command center.

When Starscream arrived, he saw only Skyfire, Smokescreen and Metalhawk present. Everyone else was absent.

"Good morning," Starscream greeted as he approached the three bots, who ceased their conversation and turned their attention to the Seeker.

"Morning, Starscream," Smokescreen greeted with a smile and wave. "Slept well?"

"I slept more than the other days, anyway," Starscream replied and stopped just before the trio. "I actually feel rested."

"We decided to let you sleep in today," Skyfire informed. "Since we've been told you haven't had much rest back in Metroplex."

"Thanks for that."

"Don't get used to it," Metalhawk said. "We still expect you to do your part around here and be available when we need you."

Starscream nodded in understanding. "So what's this place like, anyway? Is it different from the desert?"

"Very different," Smokescreen replied. "You could say it's the exact opposite of a desert."

"Which would be?"

Skyfire gave the smaller Flier a smile and gestured with his servo. "It's better if we show you. Come with me."

Skyfire walked over to a large elevator of some sort. Starscream promptly followed after and into the elevator with Skyfire.

"Are we going outside?" Starscream asked excitedly as the elevator began going up.

"We are," Skyfire replied. "I think you'll be quite surprised. Considering your memory loss, I mean. Here we are."

The elevator doors parted, and the two Fliers stepped outside. A cold breeze blew into their frames, and they shut their optics in reaction. When Starscream opened his again, the sight before him blew him away.

The base was situated in a white mountain range, and below them was a vast forest of frozen trees and white stuff covering the entire region, as far as Starscream's optics could see. The sight was breathtaking, and the white stuff lit up the entire area. The sky was as white as the ground, but despite the sun not being visible, it was still very bright.

Starscream gazed at the sight for almost an entire cycle before asking: "What is all that?"

"It's called snow," Skyfire explained, also gazing at the view. "It's tiny crystals of frozen water that gather together to form soft, white lumps called snow. It's the same as ice, though still very different."

"Snow," Starscream repeated. "How small are those crystals?"

"Incredibly small." Skyfire bent down and picked up a lump of snow, then showed it to Starscream. "If you look closely, you can see how small."

Starscream studied the lump of snow, his optics zooming in for a closer image. Yes, he could see tiny crystals with complex, unique patterns, none of them the same as the rest, all gathered together in a large pile. Each crystal was clear, but together it seemed they became white.

"How do they do that?" Starscream commented and zoomed out again, reaching a servo forth and took some of the snow. It was cold, and slowly began to melt from the warmth of his armor.

"Nobody knows," Skyfire replied. "But each of those crystals are unique. They're called snowflakes. The humans have a saying that people are like snowflakes. No two people are the same, just as there are no two snowflakes with the same pattern. We are all unique, we are all different."

"Nobody's normal," Starscream concluded. "Everyone's different. But does that mean difference is normal? Or normal is different?"

Skyfire chuckled. "I suppose you could say that. Snow doesn't exist on Cybertron, water doesn't actually exist at all there. So sights like this makes me appreciate the beauty of Earth even more."

Starscream wiped the half melted snow off his servo and turned his attention back to the landscape. "I've never seen Cybertron before," he said. "Or, well, I don't remember what it looks like. Why aren't we on Cybertron, anyway?"

Skyfire's smile fell, and he gazed between Starscream and the landscape. "We're at war with the Decepticons," he replied. "Cybertron is in shambles. There's practically no Energon left there, so we were forced to leave and go here to Earth. There's Energon and raw energy here, and plenty of it. But we all dream of returning to Cybertron some day. Perhaps when it has healed, without our personal conflict with the Decepticons."

Starscream hummed at the explanation. "Didn't we go to Earth together?" he suddenly asked. "You and I, I mean. Or did we all go here together?"

Skyfire hesitated a bit before answering. "We did go together here, you and I, a long time ago. Before the war started. We were exploring various planets for scientific research when we came upon this planet. There was a blizzard, you were small and quick enough to escape, but my size and weight made it harder for me to resist the heavy wind. I crashed and got trapped in a ravine. Do you remember?"

Starscream's optics widened and he looked down at his servos. "I think... I was searching for you," he said uncertain. "But the storm was too strong, and I couldn't find you anywhere. I had no choice but to leave by myself."

"You left me behind," Skyfire said, his voice darker now. "And I ended up freezing solid for millions of years."

There was silence between them. Starscream's head suddenly shot up and looked back at Skyfire with a smile.

"I came back for you though, didn't I?" Starscream said. "I remember finding you in the ice and getting you free. And you're here, after all. So you forgive me, right? You know I didn't want to leave you, right? Are you mad at me for abandoning you?" His smile fell quickly. "You're mad at me, aren't you? That's why you won't look at me, isn't it?"

Skyfire sighed and turned his gaze to Starscream. "It's not an easy thing to forgive," Skyfire replied. His frown soon turned into a soft smile. "But yes, you did come back for me. You did help defrost me. And for that, I'm grateful. I was mad at you at first, but it doesn't really help anyone to hold a grudge against you."

Skyfire turned fully to face Starscream, who did the same. Skyfire laid a servo on Starscream's shoulder.

"I forgive you, Starscream," Skyfire said. "I'm glad to have my friend back by my side. Really, I am."

Starscream's smile returned, and he reached a servo up to his shoulder and caressed Skyfire's own servo.

"Can we go flying?" Starscream asked, focusing on the rough feel of Skyfire's digits.

"Sure," Skyfire replied and allowed Starscream to caress the large servo. "I had actually planned to go out on patrol right now. You can tag along, if you want."

Starscream's optics glittered with excitement as he looked back into Skyfire's optics. "I'd love that."

Starscream loosened his grip on Skyfire's servo, and Skyfire in turn removed his servo from Starscream's shoulder. Skyfire turned towards the forest, but then turned back to Starscream.

"Oh, by the way," he said and reached his servo into his subspace. "There's something you should have."

Starscream watched Skyfire pull out... something, from his subspace. As the larger Flier held forth his servo, Starscream could see it was a visor and a small metal plate which looked a lot like Wheeljack's mouth mask.

"What... is that?" Starscream asked skeptically and looked back at Skyfire.

"It's a mask," Skyfire replied. "Wheeljack gave it to me just before we left the base. He said he had made it the previous night. He made it specifically for you."

Starscream's gaze went back to the mask. "Okay, but why? I didn't ask for a mask. I didn't even ask for a visor. What's it for?"

"Blizzards here in Siberia can get pretty hazardous," Skyfire replied. "Our optics and mouths can easily take damage if it gets too cold or the wind is too hard. For that reason some of us wear masks and visors, to protect our more delicate parts. I have a mask too."

Seemingly without doing anything, Skyfire's face was suddenly covered by a blue visor and a gray mouth mask, more similar to Optimus Prime's mouth mask than Wheeljack's. Starscream gasped by the action.

"So you use masks to protect your faces?" Starscream repeated and looked down at the free mask in Skyfire's servo. "And now Wheeljack's made me one as well. How kind of him."

Without further hesitation, Starscream took the visor and mouth mask from Skyfire's servo and held them in front of him.

"So... how do I put these on?" Starscream asked uncertain.

Skyfire's own mask retracted, his face reappearing, and he knelt down. "I'll help you," he offered.

Starscream allowed Skyfire to take the mouth mask first and let him install it onto the Seeker's face. It felt weird on his face, and kind of cold, having been exposed to the chill winds for a while now.

When Skyfire finished installing the mask, he backed away a little to look at his work.

"Try retracting it," Skyfire said.

Starscream felt on his face and rubbed the grill-like horizontal lines on the mask. He pulled back and tried feeling the mask on his face. He wasn't completely sure what to do here. He felt as if he had never worn a mask like this before, not even before he lost his memories. His face had always been out and free, no matter the weather. Concealing his face like this felt weird, even unnatural.

Regardless, Starscream tried his best to prove his worth to his Amica, the most important bot to him in this life. Eventually he felt a movement on his face and channeled it. The mask slid aside to each side of his audio receptors, allowing his mouth to be exposed once again. He gave Skyfire a satisfied smile. Skyfire smiled back.

"Good job," Skyfire praised and approached the Seeker again. "Now let's install the visor."

Starscream stood still and closed his optics as Skyfire began installing the visor. He didn't want to accidentally get one of his optics poked. So instead he focused on the warmth from Skyfire's digits as they brushed his facial features, and revelling in the warmth. He trusted Skyfire, enough to let him handle his face. Starscream realized he hadn't felt this kind of trust with anyone up until now, other than Ratchet. Then again, he was the medic. Medics could always be trusted. Right?

"Aaand we're done," Skyfire announced and pulled back. "Open your optics."

Starscream opened his optics, suddenly finding the world covered in blue. He could still see clearly, but everything appeared in a slight bluish tone or altered to a slightly different color, like Skyfire's red thing on his back that had now turned a slight brown. The colors were still clear enough that he could see it was red, though, so it wasn't a bother in that sense.

"This is so weird," Starscream commented and looked to all sides with his new visor. "I've never worn a visor before."

"Never seen you with one either," Skyfire replied and rose to his pedes. "But if you're going to live here, you'll need one. That's why Wheeljack made it for you. The rest of us have masks too."

"Even that Skylynx guy?"

"Okay, not _all_ of us. But Skylynx is a lot hardier than the rest of us, because he's a beastbot. Plus it's hard to make anything his size."

"What about the humans?" Starscream asked and carefully poked the visor glass with a claw. "Those Headmasters, I mean."

"They have them too, though their Transformer bodies aren't sentient, so I'm not sure if they feel the exact same as we do. They do to some extent, at least. But as long as the heads are intact, the humans are as well, which is an advantage to them."

Starscream hummed and stood to face Skyfire. "Do I retract the visor the same way as the mask? Through willpower?"

"Pretty much, though it is difficult if you're not used to wearing one," Skyfire answered. "Try it out."

Starscream focused on the feeling of the visor on his face. He focused on the frame attached to the sides of his forehead, and imagined it going away. After several nano-cycles, the visor split in the middle and the two halves slid to each side of Starscream's forehead, hiding in some opening in each side.

"Good," Skyfire praised and put on his own visor and mask. "Now try getting them out again. Both or one at a time, your choice."

Starscream gazed briefly at the larger bot's covered face before focusing again on his own. Now that he knew where the activation sensations were, it was easier to activate the mask and visor than retracting them. Within a few seconds, his face was all covered by a large, dark gray mouth mask and a blue visor with a sharp edge in the center. It still felt weird to have his face covered up like this.

"Now can we go flying?" Starscream asked impatiently and was surprised to hear his voice muffled a bit by the mask.

Skyfire chuckled behind his own mask. "Yes, let's go."

Skyfire initiated transformation first, but because he was larger than Starscream, the small Seeker finished transforming before Skyfire finished his. The small silver-white jet dwarfed before the massive white shuttle, well over three times his own size.

"I almost forgot how big you are," Starscream commented over his comm. "Big and _slow_, that is!"

Without warning, Starscream blasted off into the sky, heading towards the peak of the mountain.

"Catch me if you can!" the Seeker challenged over the comm.

Not far behind him, he could detect Skyfire closing in on him on his radar.

"_It'll be my pleasure!_" Skyfire responded over the comm.

Starscream circled the mountain peak and descended as Skyfire reached him. He felt a shadow on him and watched as the massive body of Skyfire zoomed past above him, bringing heavy tailwind with him, almost knocking Starscream forward. The Seeker let out a shriek of surprise.

"_How do you like that?_" Skyfire's chuckling voice sounded over the comm.

"How dare you," Starscream sent back teasingly. "I'll show you what a Seeker can do!"

Starscream fired up his thrusters and boosted up in speed, zooming past Skyfire and flying above the vast frozen forest, along the snowy mountain range, watching the white sky part just slightly enough to see a faint yellow ball glowing through.

"This is amazing," Starscream said to himself, off the comm. "I didn't think the Earth had such a variety of sceneries. I can't wait to see what else this planet has to offer me."

"Wow, look at all that snow!"

Starscream stiffened and stopped in his flight, just hovering in the air. That didn't come from the comm.

"Amy? Where are you?" he asked.

"In your cockpit," Amy replied. "Warm and comfy. Though a bit nauseous from your transformation. Not a good idea... urp."

Starscream made an internal scan of himself. Yes, now that he focused, he could feel, even see Amy sitting in his cockpit, strapped safely in the seatbelt looking out the orange glass.

"When did you get in there?" Starscream asked surprised and concerned. "Wait, are you even real? You're not just a figment of my imagination, are you?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm real," Amy replied with a chuckle. "Last time I checked, I was as real as you. And I snuck in there after I woke up. There aren't any ventilation shafts in your room, so I was kind of lost on how to get out. I considered trying to reach the button, since it's right by the shelf, but I didn't feel like climbing that high. I'm pretty hungry, I didn't think you'd go outside as soon as you woke up."

Starscream heard a faint rumbling from inside his cockpit. He mentally rolled his optics.

"If you really are real, I somehow have a feeling you won't be able to sneak around in the base for very long. Not if you have certain needs."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Amy replied and looked back out at the landscape. "I'm still thinking about that. But boy, I've never seen snow before. It never snows in Nevada."

"Nevada?"

"Yeah, Nevada. That's the name of the state I live in. _Lived_ in," she corrected. "Where the Autobot base is located. This place we're in, Siberia, I think it's a region somewhere in Russia. It's the biggest country in the world, though with a rather small population in... comparison..."

Amy silenced. Starscream felt concern building up. "Amy? What's wrong?"

Amy's breathing became faster and frantic. "Starscream..." she said, her voice trembling. "There... over there..." She pointed forward. "Look out!"

Starscream switched his view from inside his cockpit to outside in front of him. He stiffened. The bright glowing ball he thought was just the sun, was now approaching him. From the white clouds appeared three jets, the one in the middle surrounded by flames.

The three jets started firing lasers at Starscream. Starscream immediately set back into flight, making a U-turn back towards the base. Skyfire's signal was nowhere near his current location.

"Skyfire!" Starscream called over the comm. "Skyfire, help! I'm under attack!"


	16. Ambush

CHAPTER 16

Ambush

* * *

"Skyfire! Where are you?!" Starscream's frantic voice called over the comm. again. "I'm under attack! Three jets are shooting at me, one of them seems to be on fire! Are you there?"

If Skyfire was responding, Starscream couldn't hear it. The noises of the laser shots along with Amy's frightened keening made it hard to concentrate on the comm.

"Amy, calm down," Starscream said, though he was struggling staying calm himself while dozens of red lasers were flying right past him. "We'll be okay, we just have to get back to base and-"

"No! You can't go back to base!" Amy exclaimed. "They'll learn the base' location! And then we're all screwed!"

"Scrap, you're right," Starscream swore and turned to a random direction, away from the base, trying his best to avoid the shots from behind. "Now what do we do? I want to fight back, but I don't remember how to fire in alternate mode!"

"J-just keep going, Skyfire will find us eventually," Amy said with a trembling voice, trying to calm down. "R-right?"

A pair of lasers flew past them, followed by a blow to the right. Starscream let out a scream of surprise and pain.

"Starscream?!" Amy exclaimed as the world around them began spinning.

"They got me," Starscream groaned. "My wing's been hit! I can't fly straight! I'm going down!"

"No..." Amy whispered in fright. "No, no, no, no..."

"_Starscream! Do you read me?_" Skyfire's voice sounded through the comm.

"Skyfire! Help!" Starscream exclaimed back.

"_Calm down. You're crashing, you have to resume bot mode to minimize damage to your exterior. The snow should provide a somewhat soft landing. Hurry, before you reach the ground! I'll cover you!_"

Without further argument, Starscream did as instructed and initiated bot mode.

"Hang on tight, Amy!" he warned off the comm.

Amy let out a scream as Starscream's body parts moved around her until he had assumed bot mode, stopping the spinning, but he kept falling. Soon, he landed face first through the frozen trees and crashed in the forest. His wing was still smoking from the shot. Two trees about his own height lay on his legs and his left wing.

"Starscream, are you okay?" Amy asked concerned as she checked herself if she was still alive. "Wake up, please."

Starscream groaned and tried to lift himself off the ground, but found himself impaired by the two heavy frozen trees and the still-burning, painful right wing.

"Starscream, get up!" Amy pleaded.

"I can't, I'm stuck," Starscream hissed in panic. "I can't get up."

"Oh no, no, no," Amy keened and looked outside. "Starscream, above you!"

Starscream lifted his head just enough that he could see the blazing jet hovering down right in front of the trapped Seeker. All the snow and ice surrounding the jet melted away and revealed green grass, leaves or needles underneath.

Starscream stared at the jet in fright. Good thing he was still wearing the mask. He felt no damage to his face, and his enemy couldn't see the terror on his face...

All of a sudden, the flames disappeared from the jet in front of them, revealing a stunningly beautiful, unnatural shiny golden and white paintjob underneath. Not a single speck of dust or even the tiniest scratch dirtied the image of this beautiful jet.

Before they could really take in the image of the jet, it started coming apart and rearranging itself, until it had assumed robot mode.

Starscream's Spark skipped a beat.

The bot he saw in front of him was an exact copy of Starscream himself, excluding the different paintjob and yellow optics this one had. Other than colors, he had the exact same shape, physique and model as Starscream.

Starscream didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to _think_. His processor just stopped working, everything around him ceased to exist. Every sense was deafened, blinded, muted, tuned out, the only thing remaining being the image of the tall, golden Seeker in front of him with a white face, a black helm, and a pair of golden optics, which had a familiar gleam to them.

And all of a sudden, a name appeared in his mind. All his senses came back to him.

"...Sunstorm...?"

The golden Flier before him seemed to widen his optics as Starscream spoke. His mouth hung open slightly, as if in surprise.

"Starscream?" Sunstorm replied. "Is that you?"

Starscream's gaze inadverdently went from Sunstorm's face to his wings. Rather than the red Autobot insignias, the wings showed off ominous purple insignias, ones that looked painfully familiar to Starscream.

_No..._ Starscream thought but kept quiet.

Blue lasers were suddenly being fired at them, and Sunstorm jumped out of the way. He gave Starscream one more look before he turned around and ran away, resuming jet mode and blasting off into the sky.

Starscream lay still as Skyfire landed, transformed and removed the heavy trees from Starscream, followed by him extinguishing the fire on Starscream's wing with a pile of snow.

Starscream lay still as Skyfire requested a GroundBridge back to base, and hauled Starscream up into his arms as the GroundBridge arrived.

Starscream lay still as Skyfire went through the GroundBridge back to base with the Seeker in his arms, and they put him in medbay to treat his wounds, though not severe.

Starscream lay still as they tried calling his name to gain contact with him, and manually retracted his visor and mouth mask to check for a reaction and finding none.

Starscream lay still as Amy kept quiet and still, desperately trying to stay hidden from the bots' sight and seemingly succeeding.

Starscream remained still as he had another nightmare.

* * *

Starscream keened already before the blade met his armor. He was strapped to a table again, unable to move, barely even able to see what was happening to him.

They decided to cut this time. Use a laser knife and started cutting.

They began by the tip of his pede, then slowly cutting their way up his shin and thigh, stopping just before his hip. Then they did the same with the other leg.

Starscream screamed desperately at the painful cuts. As they reached his other hip, they paused again. Starscream keened in pain, trying to stiffle the sobs threatening to come out of his throat.

"_Aw, the little Seeker is going to cry!_"

"_How pathetic. We caught ourselves a crybaby._"

"_Crybaby! Crybaby!_"

Starscream hissed, which only encouraged the sobs to come forth.

"_Let's see how you like this, crybaby!_"

The knife started to make short but slow cuts across Starscream's modesty panel and hips. Starscream screamed as the sensitive modesty panel was stinging with pain up and down. The knife lingered at the leaking wounds on Starscream's waist.

"_Hey, I got an idea. How about we cut those extra, extra sensitive parts, huh? Bet that would hurt like nothing else._"

"_Yeah! Open! Open!_"

"No! Please! Anything but that!" Starscream exclaimed. "Stay away from my modesty panel! Don't you fragging dare, you-"

A click sounded. The knife began cutting. And Starscream screamed his Spark out.

"Starscream!" someone called.

Starscream jolted awake and swiped out with his claws around him, letting out a shriek. He sat up quickly and felt on his legs and waist and studied them. No wounds, but he felt strong stings of pain in those areas, especially underneath his modesty panel.

Starscream huffed and looked up and around him, seeing the concerned gazes of Skyfire, Metalhawk, Smokescreen and three other bots he hadn't seen before, probably those Headmaster kids. The rest seemed to be absent.

Starscream briefly glanced down at himself again, feigning interest in his lower parts, but actually looking inside his cockpit. Amy was still inside, rolled up, stil and silent, but seemingly unharmed.

Starscream looked back up at the bots, who didn't seem to notice Amy inside of him. He looked to the left and noticed Smokescreen had gained four leaking wounds on his face. Leaking, but seemingly not serious. Starscream looked down at his servos and saw his left claws were stained pink with Energon. Suddenly he remembered back in the desert when he got blood on his claws, and his vents quickened.

"I... I'm sorry," Starscream apologized and curled his legs up to his chest, partly shielding himself, partly hiding Amy from their sights. "I-I didn't mean to..."

"Forget about it," Smokescreen replied as a white and red fembot brought out a first-aid kit and started treating Smokescreen's wounds. "It's not bad, is it, Minerva?"

"The wounds aren't deep," Minerva replied. "They should be fixed with a few nanite patches and a couple of days healing."

"Thanks," Smokescreen replied as Minerva began disinfecting the wounds and applied the patches to his face. "How about you, Scream? Uh, Starscream, I mean? Are you okay?"

"You were completely out of it," a blue and white mech said. "And then you suddenly started screaming all of a sudden."

"You said sudden twice, Shuta," a red and white mech commented.

"Shut up, Cab," Shuta replied. "It's not important right now."

"You're right, it isn't," Skyfire snapped at the two young mechs. "Be quiet. Starscream, are you alright?"

Starscream was still shaking, though loosened his legs just a little, but not enough to show Amy in his cockpit. He took a deep vent and exhaled.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Just... fine."

"You shouldn't fly off like that without me," Skyfire said sternly. "I was worried sick about you, especially when I heard your comm.! Don't ever do that again!"

"Who were they?" Starscream asked. "Those three jets. One of them transformed. Are they all Transformers? Who are they?"

Silence fell over the medbay and its residents. Nobody said anything for a while.

"They were Decepticons," Skyfire finally said. "Patrolling the same territory we were, apparently."

"One of them looked like me," Starscream said. "Why did he do that?"

Skyfire hesitated. "Remember what I said before about some cities on Cybertron creating bots with specific designs?" he decided to say. "Like how Prowl and Bluestreak both are Praxian and look like each other? Well, you're Vosian, and the body type you have is very popular in Vos. Was. The bots we met were Vosians."

Starscream felt a rush through his tanks. "Vosians? There are others like me? Why... why are they Decepticons?"

Again they hesitated. Again Skyfire was the one to explain. "Unfortunately many Vosians decided to follow Megatron and joined the Decepticons. Many, but not all. We Autobots have several Vosians on our side. Including you."

Starscream hummed, which came out as more of a keen as he was still pretty agitated. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again.

"Does... does this kind of thing happen often?" Starscream asked after a while.

"You mean the ambush? Sometimes, but it's been quite a while since we've had Decepticon contact. I have to inform Optimus about this so he can inform the other bases."

Starscream, starting to calm down, cocked his head. "Because of one small attack in the middle of nowhere?"

"This is serious, Starscream. If any contact, conflict or otherwise is made with the enemy, it can quickly escalate to a battle, if not at our region, then at the Ark. And in that case Prime's going to need as many Autobots as possible. I'm calling him now. If you're able to get up, go to your room and rest."

Starscream didn't argue with Skyfire. He wanted to be alone for a while. As alone as one can be with a human in one's chest, that is. So he got up and walked off into the hallways by himself, arms slumping beside him, his walking accompanied by slight shuddering.

Still thinking about the nightmare.

As soon as he found his room and made his way in there and closed the door, Starscream opened his cockpit by the desk, allowing Amy to step outside. She seemed to have calmed down, though like Starscream, was still shaking a little.

"Never," Starscream hissed darkly as he placed his servos on each side of Amy on the desk to block her in. "Never do that again. Do you understand? Never sneak inside me again without my permission and without my knowledge. If you do, I'll send you back to Metroplex City."

Amy's eyes widened. She closed them and nodded. "Okay," she replied quietly. "I promise I won't do it again."

"Good," Starscream snapped and started pacing around on the floor. "You claim you're a good listener, right? Well, I have something I need to talk about right now."

Amy walked over to the stress relief ball and sat down into it, as if it was a bean bag. "Okay, what is it? Is it about that Sunstorm guy?"

"You catch on quick," Starscream said without looking at her. "Skyfire said some Vosians joined the Decepticons while others joined the Autobots. Like me. But something's not right about that story, and I think the reason is Sunstorm."

Amy cocked her head in confusion. "Why? What does Sunstorm have to do with this?"

"This may sound weird," Starscream said and briefly paused in his pacing. "But as soon as I looked at him, I felt something click in my head. I remembered something. Something about myself. Something very important."

"What is it?"

Starscream hesitated before speaking and started pacing again.

"I'm not sure how to explain it," Starscream said, "but I think Sunstorm is my brother."


	17. Amy

CHAPTER 17

Amy

* * *

"Your brother?" Amy repeated with surprise. "You think Sunstorm is your brother? Why?"

"It's hard to explain," Starscream said and continued pacing around the room. "I felt something when I looked at him. I felt some sort of connection with him, like I did with Skyfire. I think... I think I felt it in my Spark."

"Your big glowy heart-soul thing?" Amy replied. "You can feel he's your brother with that?"

"I think so," Starscream replied and paused in his pacing, rubbing his chin with his thumb and pointer. "If he is my brother, and I'm pretty sure he is, then that would explain why he looks like me."

"Didn't Skyfire say your body-type is normal in someplace though?"

"He did say that. My body-type is normal in Vos. Which is strange. Why would he say something like that?" Starscream started pacing again in silence for a moment before stopping again. "Perhaps... does Skyfire not know Sunstorm is my brother?"

"Could be," Amy suggested. "I mean, if he's _your_ brother, it makes sense if only _you_ can tell so, from your Spark."

"Still," Starscream mused and started pacing again, looking at the floor. "If Skyfire said that because he doesn't know we're brothers, does that mean there are more that look like me? Are there more Decepticons that look just like me? And he said most Vosians, those who look like me, joined the Decepticons. Most, but not all. There's something odd about this. Know what I mean?"

Starscream stopped his pacing for a while and looked silently at Amy, apparently expecting an answer from her. Realizing this, Amy held her chin with her thumb and pointer and thought hard with a frown on her face. After a few seconds, she looked back up, her frown loosened.

"He didn't mention any Vosians with the Autobots," she announced.

"Correct," Starscream replied and started pacing again, his gaze returning to the floor. "He only mentioned me. He didn't come up with any other examples. He even said there are several Vosians with the Autobots. I wonder why he didn't tell me the name of at least one other."

"Maybe he was lying," Amy suggested.

Starscream stopped his pacing and seemed to stiffen. He looked at Amy with what could be considered a glare. "Skyfire wouldn't lie to me," he protested. "He wouldn't. We're Amica, Amica don't lie to each other, they can tell each other anything." Starscream returned his gaze to the floor and resumed his pacing. "At least... that's what I think. That's what I want to believe. But, with you saying that, I have to admit, I'm not actually sure. I don't know what to think of the Autobots. Are they really telling the truth? Or are they hiding something from me?"

There was silence in the room for a while. Perhaps a bit too long. Amy followed Stascream's movements concerned with her eyes, uncertain how he would react or what he would say next.

Amy opened her mouth as if to say something, but hesitated and closed it again. Before she could decide to speak again, a rather loud rumbling noise was heard from her stomach. Her eyes widened, and Starscream stopped his pacing yet again, now turning his full attention to Amy.

"Sorry," Amy said with an embarrassed laughter. "I was so focused on the attack and everything that I forgot I still haven't eaten yet."

Starscream hummed and loosened his grouchy face, assuming a softer expression.

"What do humans refuel on? Energon?"

"No," Amy replied and folded her hands together. "We eat organic food, like fruit, meat, veggies, bread, a lot of things, really. Most important is water though. We can't survive without water for more than three days, barely even a single day."

Starscream hummed again. "So water is your Energon, I guess," he concluded. "Where do humans get all that?"

"We sow, plant, grow and harvest various plants, and we keep animals as livestock for meat and other things. Though we keep the majority of finished food in fridges. Water comes out of faucets mainly, though many countries have polluted water so one can only get clean drinking water from bottles. I don't know how it's like here in Russia though..."

"Do you want me to go get some food for you?" Starscream offered.

"No, they'll find out I'm here," Amy protested. "I can get it myself if you help me out and in."

"You can't even get out of this room by yourself," Starscream pointed out. "And it would look pretty weird if I got out and in every time you need to go to get food. Not to mention there are giant robots walking around that can step on you if you're not careful. And your dress isn't exactly blending in with the surroundings here. But if you really think you can handle it by yourself, be my guest."

Starscream ended by crossing his arms and looking at Amy with a stony expression. Silence fell between them. Amy looked away, trying to think of something.

"I don't want to be sent back home," she said quietly. "I want to stay with you."

"That doesn't mean you can just sneak around here."

"If they find me, they'll send me back. And then I'll be all alone again. I don't want that."

Starscream cocked a ridge. "You got your parents, don't you? You won't be alone."

Amy was silent for a while. "I'm an only child. My parents work all the time. Even when they're home they work and pay little attention to me. They give me anything I ask for, they only spend time with me during meals, otherwise they leave me to my own devices. I used to be fine with that, since I'm used to being alone. But when I saw you a few days ago, in Metroplex City, I was astonished. I was home alone, like so many other days, it's the beginning of the summer vacation, and I had never seen anything like you before. I had heard rumors about Transformers from my classmates, but you were the first one I had actually seen. I'm normally pretty shy, but you were just so pretty. And you didn't hurt those guys on purpose, you were attacked. That's why I don't think you're dangerous."

Starscream didn't interrupt her while she talked, even though she talked for a while. As she seemed to finish, he decided to take the word again.

"You can't sneak around in this base," he repeated. "Not with the bots we're teamed up with. There are even humans here. You're certainly not too small to be noticed by them. They seem to be around your age, I think. How old are you, exactly?"

"Fourteen," Amy replied. "I'm small for my age. Most think I'm ten or twelve. I had friends when I was younger, but since I moved to the older grades, it's been hard for me to socialize. I'm not really interested in it anyway. I'll be done with elementary school next year. No need to make any new friends in my old school. And high school's only three years too, I think, what's the use of trying to make new friends when I'll be gone in a moment anyway?"

Starscream hummed at her argument. He let his arms fall to his sides. "I think it would be good for you to have more friends than just me though," he said. "There are only three humans in this base. A few are better than none, right?"

Amy curled her legs to her body. "I don't know," she said quietly. "I don't feel comfortable about meeting strangers."

"Why not? They're not dangerous. They're about your size, maybe even age. I don't think they're mean either. They didn't seem mean."

"You don't know what I mean," Amy sighed. "Nobody does. Even I'm not sure why I'm so scared of meeting new people. I know they're probably not dangerous or will hurt me. Just like I don't have any friends, I don't have any enemies either. I've always made sure to stay out of trouble, and my parents made sure to get me into a school where kids are put in small classes with many teachers to make sure nobody's getting bullied, and so these kids can form friendships with others like themselves. I don't hate school, I actually like it. But that's because it's not a typical school, most students around the country don't have that kind of advantage or luxury. Probably why the crime rate is so high in America."

Starscream leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed, partly listening to Amy, partly gazing at the door, considering their options here. He let out a sigh.

"You're afraid if they see you, they'll send you back to America," Starscream concluded. "And that you'll be subjugated to the same things typical students are. I think I get it now."

Amy looked up at him. "You do? What are you gonna do then?"

Starscream hummed silently to himself for a while, subconsciously tapping his pede on the floor.

"I think I want to introduce you to the others," Starscream finally said. "And tell them you're staying with me, and if they even consider sending you back, I'll make them regret it. And that the three humans better make friends with you, or they'll have to answer to me. How's that sound?"

Amy smiled and giggled at Starscream's offer, but stayed silent for a while.

"I guess... I suppose we can give it a try," she said and fidgeted with her hands. "I'll even stay behind here in the base when you're gone. Just... please promise me you won't let them send me back. Please?"

"I promise," Starscream assured her and gave her a soft smile. "They'll be sending you back over my Sparkless body."

Amy grinned and scratched the back of her head. "Maybe not _that_ much," she said. "I don't want to get you in trouble because of me. I'll go back to America if it's too much trouble to keep me here, I can always call you, I guess. You don't have to risk your life for me."

Starscream scoffed and smirked at her. "Risk my life for you? Please. I'll make sure you're safe, _and_ I'll stay alive myself. I was merely using an expression."

"Oh," Amy replied and covered her face in embarrassment. "Sorry, I wasn't sure if you were serious or not."

After a moment of chuckles and silence, Amy removed her hands from her face and looked back up at Starscream, forcing a smile on her face.

"Alright," she said. "I'll do it. I want to meet the others."

* * *

Sunstorm felt uneasy as he joined up with his Trinemates, who seemed battered but not badly hurt.

"Sideways, Contrail, let's return to base," Sunstorm announced to his fellow orange Seekers, who followed close behind.

"Did you get him, Sunstorm?" Sideways asked over the comm. "You were down there for a while."

"He got away," Sunstorm sent back. "The Autobots seem to have acquired a new companion. Or perhaps he's a transfer from one of their other bases on this planet, who knows."

"Was it just me, or did that Flier look a lot like your late brother?" Contrail speculated.

"Please, that Autobot scum looked nothing like Starscream," Sunstorm hissed over the comm. "The paintjob may be the same, but it was just another of their little scouts. Our body-type isn't that uncommon after all."

"Still, there aren't many with that specific paintjob," Contrail pressed on. "Are you sure that-"

"Just drop it, Contrail," Sunstorm snapped and set himself on fire. "Or I'll burn you to a crisp. You know I can do that."

"Fine, fine, whatever you say," Contrail replied tonelessly. "Air Commander Sunstorm."


	18. Attitude

CHAPTER 18

Attitude

* * *

Starscream checked the hallway before exiting and closing the door behind him. He looked down at his right servo, where Amy stood, clinging onto one of Starscream's digits.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Starscream asked.

"I'm sure," Amy replied though with a hint of a frown on her face. "Let's just get going before I change my mind, please."

"Alright then."

With that, Starscream set in motion, though made sure to walk slowly and carefully, so Amy wouldn't fall off his servo. Amy held tightly around Starscream's index digit, a little over half her own height, while he walked through the large hallways with slow but long strides.

The walk went mostly in silence. As they reached the last hallway before the command center, Starscream stopped and gazed back at Amy.

"You're absolutely sure you're not just a figment of my imagination?" Starscream repeated from earlier. "I'd hate to make a fool out of myself if it turns out I'm the only one who can see you."

"I already said I'm real, I'm just really good at hiding," Amy assured him, slightly annoyed. "Like I said, I'm pretty shy. What I'm not is not real. I mean, I'm real. I'm not a figment of your imagination."

"How do I know you're right?" Starscream speculated concerned.

"Step into the room, show me to the others and find out. I won't hide again, I won't run away, if that's what you're worried about. I'm not going to embarrass you. So don't worry."

"But-"

"If you keep doubting me then I don't wanna meet the others anymore. Sorry for interrupting you."

Starscream sighed. "It's fine. But you're right. I don't know why I'm so worried if you're real or not."

"Perhaps because if it turns out I'm not, the others will think you've lost your mind and will treat you differently for it?" Amy suggested.

Starscream fell silent for a moment. "Now who's causing doubt in this idea?" he teased, though more serious than intended.

"Sorry, thought you wanted to know."

They stood and contemplated in silence for about a minute before Starscream took a deep vent and exhaled.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked.

Amy took in a deep breath of her own and exhaled, glancing at Starscream and put on a smile.

"I'm ready," she replied. "Let's go."

Both gazes set forward, Starscream set into a walk again, heading through the last hallway and reaching the entrance to the command center. He paused once again to share a glance with Amy. They both gave each other a small smile.

"Here we go," Starscream announced quietly.

Amy nodded but didn't say anything. Her gaze returned forward, staring into the room, her smile faltering. She seemed to gulp. Starscream set his own gaze forward, his own smile faltering as well. He took in another deep vent and exhaled.

And stepped inside the command center.

* * *

Sunstorm was still ablaze when he and his Trinemates approached the entrance to the Decepticon secret base in Russia, in the northwestern part of the country, also set in a mountain range, though with less snow and surrounded by a lush green pine forest.

"Uh, Commander Sunstorm?" Sideways said concerned over the comm. "You should probably turn off those flames before entering the base."

"Don't tell me what to do, Sideways," Sunstorm hissed, still burning.

"But you'll destroy the machi-"

"Don't talk to me like I was created yesterday, I'm perfectly aware of my own abilities, like I have the last several million years, thank you very much!"

They were but a few dozen meters from the entrance to their hideout, and Sunstorm's flames still had not disappeared.

"With all due respect, sir," Contrail intervened, "it would be a good idea to-"

Merely ten meters before reaching the opening entrance on a mountainside, the flames surrounding Sunstorm disappeared. Contrail silenced.

"Well, but it seems you have everything under control," Contrail decided to say instead.

Once inside the entrance, the three Seekers transformed. The entrance closed, enveloping the room in total darkness aside from the yellow optics of Sunstorm, red visor of Contrail and pink visor of Sideways. A few nano-cycles later, lights turned on, and the floor started going down.

"I am _always_ in control, Contrail," Sunstorm snapped and crossed his arms, facing away from his Trinemates. "Never question me again. Don't take me for a moron."

Contrail and Sideways both crossed their arms, Sideways giving a smirk.

"Aren't you in a mood," Contrail remarked.

It was hard to know if Contrail was smirking too, since he was wearing a mouth mask and never showed his actual face. Much like Soundwave, though still less creepy.

In bot mode, Contrail seemed to be wingless and without a visible cockpit, shambled somewhere on his body. He was mostly orange but had gray thighs. He had a long spike coming out of the top of his head and going back, similar to the Dinobot known as Swoop. His chest seemed more like the grill on a car than something on a jet.

Overall, Contrail didn't look much like a Flier in robot mode and could likely pretend to be a Grounder if he wanted to. Not that he would ever want to, that is. Why lower himself to a measly Grounder that couldn't fly? It was better that everyone knew who and what he was so they wouldn't mess with him. Contrail was one of the most powerful Seekers, both among Decepticons and Autobots, and everyone knew that. Few dared to make a fool out of him, a former member of the High Council on Cybertron.

Only Sunstorm could really induce fear into Contrail, at least among the Seekers. With his unique ability to set himself ablaze with radioactive flames that burned everything touching him and destroyed any machinery around him, pretty much everyone feared him. Autobots, Decepticons, humans. Even Megatron seemed to have his concerns for the hotheaded Seeker.

Fortunately for Megatron, Sunstorm was also a religious mech and would thus not misuse his powers gifted to him by Primus. Unless threatening his Trinemates with the flames counted as misuse, that is.

Sideways didn't worry about Sunstorm misusing his powers though. He was also religious, though not as much as Sunstorm. So he knew that Sunstorm would not go against Primus' words. Sideways looked more like the typical Vosian Seeker, same build as Sunstorm; tall, sleek and with long wings and an orange cockpit in his chest. His plating was black, orange and silver, his face orange with a pink visor and his head covered by a black helm. Unlike the other Seekers, Sideways had a pair of crooked horns sticking out of the sides of his helm. It made him easier to recognize among the many generic Seekers in their ranks in any case.

Like Contrail, Sideways wasn't a mech to mess around with. He wasn't as powerful as Contrail or even Sunstorm, but he was a master of his own skill. He was cunning and very deceitful, comparable to even Starscream. He served as one of the Decepticons' spies, and one of the best at that. While technically being under Sunstorm's command, he was also one of Soundwave's lieutenants. Without Sunstorm or Starscream, or any of the other Decepticons knowing, of course. Only Soundwave and Megatron knew, and they were the only two who needed to know.

Sunstorm remained silent for the remainder of the journey down the elevator, until it stopped and the elevator doors opened up, allowing the Seekers to step out into the command center.

Sunstorm walked through the room in a swift pace, his Trinemates following close behind. Around in the room, the Constructicons were scattered and working on each their own things. Hook was at the medbay and was studying something, Mixmaster was busy cleaning the floor as ordered by Sunstorm before he and his Trinemates left for patrol, Scavenger was watching the monitors for energy signals, and Long Haul was carrying empty Absorption Cubes into the command center from the hallway. Bonecrusher and Scrapper seemed to be absent, probably in the training room to blow off some steam.

Sunstorm barely took notice of the empty cubes as he stormed over to the monitors on a slightly higher level surrounded by railings. Hook briefly looked up from his work.

"Oh, you're back," he said. "What-"

"Silence," Sunstorm hissed and gave Hook a sharp look, silencing the Constructicon. He walked over to Scavenger. "Scavenger, call the Nemesis," he ordered.

Scavenger looked up, seemingly half asleep. "Why?" he asked drowzily.

Sunstorm snorted. "Because _I_ can't push the buttons without risking destroying the whole thing."

"I know that, but why do I have to call the Nemesis?"

"Because I need to speak to Lord Megatron," Sunstorm hissed annoyed. "Now get _on_ with it!"

"Okay, okay," Scavenger said and started pushing the buttons. "Don't gotta bite my helm off. Jeez..."

While Scavenger tried to contact the Nemesis, Sunstorm paced back and forth, apparently thinking it was taking too long. Sideways and Contrail looked on from below the monitors near the medbay.

"What crawled up his tailpipe and died?" Hook asked offended to the two orange Seekers.

Sideways smirked and crossed his arms as he glanced at Hook. "More like what crawled up his tailpipe, left something dead and then died itself," he replied.

Hook cocked a ridge. "Eh...what?"

"Be silent and maybe you'll find out, Grounder," Contrail replied without looking at Hook, still gazing up at the distressed Sunstorm pacing back and forth beside the monitors.

Finally the monitor beeped and the screen popped up, showing Megatron's face. Sunstorm finally stopped his pacing.

"Lord Megatron," Scavenger greeted and bowed his head slightly. "This is Scavenger from Decepticon Outpost Gamma-Delta."

"_What is it, Scavenger?_" Megatron's raspy voice sounded through the comm.

"Sunstorm wishes to speak to you, my liege."

"_Well, don't just sit there, bring him forth!_"

Scavenger got up from his seat and stepped aside, letting Sunstorm step in front of the monitor to face the Decepticon warlord.

"_Sunstorm,_" Megatron greeted and gave the Seeker a toothy smile. "_Long time no see. What do you want?_"

"Lord Megatron, we encountered a pair of Autobots when we went out on patrol just a while ago. One of them was Skyfire, the other one was new."

Megatron cocked a ridge. "_New? As in a new recruit, or as in someone you've never seen before but we others have?_"

"How should I know if you've encountered him before?" Sunstorm hissed with little care for the fact that he was speaking to their leader. "He seemed to be Vosian like me and the other Seekers. But he was wearing a blue visor and a gray mouthplate."

Megatron seemed to hum. "_What was his paintjob like?_"

"White, with a red torso and blue arms and pedes," Sunstorm described.

Megatron cocked a ridge again, silent for a moment. Then he barked a laugh. "_You sure you're not seeing ghosts, Sunstorm? For that description sounds a lot like Starscream. And you know that your dear brother is dead._"

"You don't have to remind me," Sunstorm snorted. "And it wasn't Starscream. I know my brother when I see him. Starscream would never hide his face, not even to avoid your attention. Besides, he was a terrible Flier, my brother was the best of the best. I will destroy that mech the next time we meet."

"_Calm your thrusters, dear Sunstorm,_" Megatron said, his smirk having returned. "_The fact that you had an encounter with the Autobots, the first in weeks, means there's another battle on its way. If not at your location, then here at the Nemesis. The Autobots will retaliate now that the peace is broken. We have managed to harvest Energon around the world without their notice, but now they will know of our secret plans and attempt to stop us._"

Sunstorm frowned in confusion. "All we did was shoot at a pair of measley Autobot Seekers, I don't think the 'Bots know about our plans..._ Lord_ Megatron," he added.

"_It's just a matter of time before they do. It's a miracle we lasted as long as we did. For now, keep a low profile and stay in the base until further notice. Should the Autobots decide to retaliate at the Nemesis, we need to be prepared with all the troops available. Only the transporters will continue their work with gathering Energon at hot spots. I will announce the next battle when the time comes. That is all._"

Megatron seemed to be about to hang up, but Sunstorm wasn't finished.

"Megatron, don't go yet!" Sunstorm exclaimed.

Megatron paused and stared at the Seeker with a stony expression. He didn't seem pleased with being addressed so informally in such an insubordinate tone.

"_You have something else you want to talk to me about, Sunstorm?_" Megatron asked with a low growl.

"You aren't seriously telling me that we are going to stay underground and avoid flying for who knows how long?"

"_I am. Do you have a problem with it?_"

The two mechs stared intently into each other's optics in tense silence, Sunstorm's burning gaze and Megatron's freezing glare. The Constructicons and two other Seekers looked on, feeling the tension between the two mechs.

After what felt like an eternity, Sunstorm let out a snorty sigh and broke optic contact, looking down at the floor. "No, my liege," he snarled. "Not at all. I will see you soon."

Megatron's smirk returned, followed by the monitor going black, breaking the comm. Sunstorm turned around, gaze still fixed at the floor, and walked down to the lower floor and past his Trinemates.

"Commander Sunstorm," Sideways said.

"I'm heading to my quarters," Sunstorm said quietly, barely snarling at all. "Do not disturb me."

The Decepticons gazed after the golden Seeker as he left the room through the hallways, heading for his quarters. They all knew what that meant.

Sunstorm was going to pray. And only a fool with a death wish would dare disturb him in the middle of a prayer. At least that meant the rest of the residents of Decepticon Outpost Gamma-Delta would have some peace and quiet from their moody base captain.

Sideways let out a sigh. "That's the First Lieutenant for you," he commented quietly. "And he was doing so well..."

"Not like his good days are much better than his bad days," Hook commented.

Contrail turned sharply to the Constructicon. "Shut your mouth," he hissed and turned his attention to Long Haul. "Prepare yourselves for take-off. If we are going to be trapped in this place, the least you can do is steal some energy from the humans. Lock onto the coordinates of the latest energy signal and get that Energon!"

Sideways side-glanced Contrail and the Constructicons, preparing for departure, before he went through the hallways himself.

Course set for Sunstorm's quarters.

* * *

Starscream held his breath as he entered the command center, heading towards the others. Skyfire was having his wounds checked by Minerva, Smokescreen seemingly having been taken care of. Shuta and Cab seemed to have left their Transtector bodies, both transformed into a police car and a firetruck respectively, parked in a small 'garage' right next to the edge of the railings. The two boys were sitting in the couch playing a video game.

Starscream walked slowly, his gaze occasionally moving down to Amy, perhaps to make sure she was still there. She seemed to kneel down, trying to hide behind the Seeker's talons. She seemed a bit anxious. She gazed up at Starscream, who tried to give her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, though with uncertainty.

Looking back up, Starscream saw Metalhawk and Smokescreen standing by a pair of monitors, Bluestreak arriving from the GroundBridge and Cosmos arriving from the elevator. Skylynx was still absent.

Starscream paused just a short distance from the medbay, gaze fixed on Skyfire. Skyfire looked up from Minerva's work and his gaze fell on Starscream, standing in the middle of the room. He didn't smile, but he didn't frown either. His expression was stony and neutral.

"Hey, Starscream," Skyfire greeted calmly, making everyone aware that he was present. "Something wrong?"

Starscream stood in silence for a while, his right servo outstretched, talons close together to hide Amy. He let out a sigh and parted his claws, revealing Amy, who decided to finally stand up.

"I... want you to meet someone," Starscream began and stepped forward, until he reached the medbay.

As Starscream lowered his servo and looked up at Skyfire, he saw the larger Flier's gaze falling from Starscream's face to his servo. The white Flier seemed to stiffen as his gaze fixed on Amy.

"Starscream," Skyfire remarked with shock. "What have you done?"

Starscream returned his gaze to Amy, who was still standing on his servo, stalk stiff and staring anxiously at Skyfire. The Seeker returned his gaze to Skyfire, whose expression was less stony and more frowny.

"This is Amy," Starscream introduced. "She's my friend."


	19. Introduction

CHAPTER 19

Introduction

* * *

"Starscream, are you out of your mind?!" Skyfire said. "You're not supposed to pick up humans and bring them back to base! What if her family starts searching for her? You could expose us to-"

"Hey, calm down!" Starscream said and waved his left servo, while pulling his right servo with Amy a little back. "I didn't steal her, she followed me."

"From where?"

Starscream briefly glanced down at Amy, who tried very hard not to move even an inch or even make a sound. Even breathing seemed to be too risky for her. She didn't seem comfortable by Skyfire's loud and angry voice.

"From Metroplex," Starscream admitted and gazed back at Skyfire.

Skyfire's expression seemed even more shocked than before. Even Minerva standing next to him gave Starscream a surprised look. Shuta and Cab decided to ignore their video game and joined the others by the railings. Metalhawk and Smokescreen remained by the monitors but seemed to be listening and throwing glimpses at the others now and then. Bluestreak and Cosmos had both approached the medbay to get a look at the girl.

"From _Metroplex_?!" Skyfire exclaimed. "She followed you all the way from _America_?!"

Amy couldn't stand still anymore. She crouched down and grabbed Starscream's digits and tried to hide. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. She was getting stressed by the loud noises and all the stares by the surrounding bots and humans.

Starscream understood and pulled her closer and held up his left servo to shield her a bit further before his gaze returned to Skyfire.

"Don't shout, please," Starscream said. "You're scaring her."

"You don't think it's _you_ she's scared of?" Skyfire countered.

Starscream cocked a ridge in confusion. "Me? Why would she be scared of me?"

Skyfire pinched his nasal ridge with two digits. "Because... because you're a giant alien robot, Starscream," he replied and looked back at the smaller Seeker. "Humans are scared of us. That's why we have to disguise ourselves as vehicles. I thought you knew that."

"I have amnesia, remember?" Starscream said with a hint of a hiss. "I have an actual excuse for forgetting things, you don't."

Skyfire seemed to silence at that. He covered his face in his palm.

"I'm sorry, Starscream, I did forget that," Skyfire groaned and removed his palm, let out a vent and assumed a calmer expression as he looked down at the frightened Amy. "I apologize, Amy, was it? I'm sorry for scaring you. Did I scare you?"

Amy looked through Starscream's talons, not willing to come out yet. "A little," she said quietly. "Please don't be mad at Starscream. I followed him here. So please stop yelling."

Skyfire managed to put a soft smile on his face. "I'm not mad at Starscream," Skyfire said. "And I'm not mad at you either. I'm Skyfire, by the way, captain of this base."

Amy, sensing things were beginning to calm down a bit, decided to stand up, still looking at Skyfire, still holding tightly around Starscream's talons. "I'm Amy," she greeted.

Starscream pulled away his left servo, allowing Amy to be a bit more free, but didn't reach his right servo forth just yet. His gaze shifted between Amy and Skyfire.

"She... said she was hungry," Starscream informed. "Right?"

"Yeah..." Amy replied. "Do... do you have any food?"

"We sure do," Minerva replied beside Skyfire. "I'm Minerva. I'm actually a human too, but I'm inside this Transtector's head. I'm a Junior Headmaster."

Amy glanced at Minerva and she seemed captivated. "Wow, really? You're a human?"

"Hey, we're Junior Headmasters too!" Shuta and Cab exclaimed in sync, catching Amy's attention. They pointed down next to the medbay. "Our Transtectors are down there!"

Amy followed their pointing to the police car and firetruck down below. "You can even transform? That is so cool."

"Did you want some food?" Minerva asked.

"Oh, right," Amy remembered. She looked up at Starscream. "Can you put me down at the railings? I'll be okay."

Starscream's gaze went from Amy to the boys at the railings. He gave them a glare as he slowly reached his right servo over to them, allowing Amy to get off.

"Be nice to her," Starscream said with what sounded like the most restrained hiss he could make. "Or else."

"Starscream," Amy whispered in embarrassment. She looked at the two boys, indeed about her size, and gulped. She carefully stepped down from Starscream's servo and turned slightly to the boys, but then turned away again, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey, I'm Cab," Cab greeted with his arms crossed behind his head and a smile.

"I'm Shuta," Shuta greeted with crossed arms and a smile. "Or Goshooter, whichever works."

"I'm Amy," Amy greeted with her hands folded and forced her eyes to look at the boys. She gave them a nervous grin. Starscream suddenly recognized the grin from the first few times he had been met by Amy and realized her constant smiling and grinning and giggling back then had been expressions of anxiety.

Behind them, a mechanical sound was heard. They turned and saw Minerva's head jump off, the robot transforming into an ambulance right next to the police car and firetruck. The head transformed into a girl in red armor who landed by the edge of the railings. Minerva pressed a button on the armor, after which the armor seemed to transform into a tiny wristband, leaving Minerva with her long, golden hair, bright blue eyes and her dark blue uniform. A smile adorned her face, captivating not only the two boys, but also Amy.

"Cool..." Amy said quietly and gave Minerva a genuine smile. "That's pretty awesome. Do you have more of those Transtector things?"

"Not at the moment, but maybe we can call Brainstorm and see if he can make an extra," Minerva replied and giggled. "Follow me, our kitchen's over here."

"Brainstorm? He makes those things?" Amy asked as they moved further into the human section of the base, still within Starscream's view, but he watched them like a cyberhawk.

Skyfire laid a servo on Starscream's shoulder, getting his attention.

"She'll be fine, Starscream," Skyfire said and turned him away from the human area, leading them a bit away to talk out of the humans' hearing range. They stopped when they were near the monitors where Metalhawk and Smokescreen stood. Cosmos and Bluestreak both went with Skyfire and Starscream.

"Don't send her back to America," Starscream said right away. "Please."

Skyfire and the others seemed to pause. "What?" Skyfire said in confusion.

"She wants to stay here with me, she said so herself," Starscream replied. "So please don't tell Ironhide. Or Optimus Prime."

"Starscream..."

"I'll look after her. She'll stay here in base where she's safe, she can befriend those other humans you have over there, and we can see each other every day."

"Starscream, she has a family," Skyfire said sternly but not loudly and crossed his arms. "She has a life, school and friends in America. It's not fair to take her away from that."

"No, that's the thing, she doesn't have any friends back there," Starscream protested. "Even her family ignores her, and she fears the school system back in America. She's afraid of strangers, but she seems to be okay with me."

Skyfire hummed and frowned a bit. "We can't keep her here forever, you know that, right?"

"She said she wanted to stay for the next couple of months, something about being the beginning of a summer vacation or something."

"I don't know, Starscream..."

"How about asking her ourselves?" Bluestreak suggested. "If we're discussing whether she can stay here or not, wouldn't it be more sensible and fair to have her be part of the conversation?"

Starscream and Skyfire glanced at Bluestreak, then turned to glance at the humans in the human area. Amy sat by the table in the kitchen section and ate some fruit, it seemed. Her attention was largely on the food rather than the people around her. She seemed pretty hungry.

Starscream smiled at the sight. So did Skyfire. The latter let out a sigh.

"Alright," Skyfire said and let his arms fall to his sides. "We'll wait until she's finished eating. Then we'll talk to her about allowing her to stay. Until then, I have to inform you of something, Starscream."

Starscream perked to attention and gazed intently at Skyfire. "What is it?"

"I called Optimus Prime earlier, while you were in your room. And he told us that to avoid a bigger confrontation with the Decepticons, we have to lay low for the time being. That means we all have to stay in the base and not go out even for a fly."

Starscream seemed shocked by the information. "How long do we have to stay down here?"

"For now, at least a week."

"A whole week?!"

"It's just a week, you can handle it."

"Skyfire, I have been online for less than four days so far, since I lost my memories. I haven't even mentally _existed_ for a week, and you expect me to wait an entire week from now with going for a fly again?"

Skyfire paused to think. "That's right, I forgot. Again. Sorry. I'll try harder to remember."

"You better," Starscream replied with crossed arms and a pout. "A whole week without flying. You've got to be kidding me."

Again Skyfire laid a servo on Starscream's shoulder and gave him a soft smile. "I think you can do it, Starscream. You're stronger, calmer and more patient than you think. More than most bots think. I know you. You can handle a week without flying."

Starscream listened intently to Skyfire's words and fell silent, looking down.

"If you want, I can ask Wheeljack to make more puzzles for you if you don't have enough already?" Skyfire suggested with his head slightly tilted.

Starscream couldn't help but smile back at the big guy. "That sounds lovely. I'll keep it in mind."

Skyfire pulled back, and the bots gazed back at the humans by the railings. Amy seemed to be about finished with her meal. Skyfire seemed to be about to walk back when Starscream stopped him by holding onto the other's servo.

"Skyfire," Starscream said, his smile disppearing and his tone more serious. "You said there are more Vosians with the Autobots like me, right? Who are they?"

Skyfire paused and turned back to Starscream, briefly glancing to Bluestreak and Cosmos standing on either side of him, as well as briefly glancing to Metalhawk and Smokescreen, still busy by the monitors.

"Skylynx, come back to base already," Metalhawk spoke into the comm. "We're in house arrest for a week, that includes you."

"_Yes, yes, I hear you,_" Skylynx' voice sounded from the comm. "_Let me just finish my round and I'll come right back to you all._"

"No, you have to get back _now_!" Metalhawk said sternly. "Optimus' orders."

"Skyfire?"

Skyfire pulled his attention away from Metalhawk's conversation with the ignorant Skylynx and returned his focus to Starscream, looking none too pleased with being ignored.

"Did you hear what I said?" Starscream asked with a frown and crossed arms.

"Autobot Vosians other than you," Skyfire repeated. "That's right, there are more Vosians with us. The Aerialbots are all Vosians. Silverbolt, Air Raid, Slingshot, Fireflight and Skydive. And, I think, Whirl. The Aerialbots are also Seekers, actually. So am I."

Starscream perked to attention. "You're a Seeker too? I thought you were a scientist."

"Seekers are warriors, mostly, yes, but we are also sort of scientists. Though in truth, Seeker is a title given to the best Fliers on Cybertron, many of which are from Vos. Mostly because the majority of Fliers come from Vos. For some reason Flier Sparks just love to appear in Vos grounds."

"Flier Sparks?" Starscream repeated intrigued.

"Yes, there are two main types of Cybertronians, Fliers and Grounders. For Forged bots, this is true all the way to the Spark. A Flier Spark will grow into a flight frame, while a Grounder Spark will grow into a ground frame. Of course, bots _can_ scan a new altenate mode, and blank Protoforms can become Fliers or Grounders regardless of their Sparks, but if a Grounder scans an air vehicle they often start out with a fear of heights and it takes them time to get used to flying. And as for Fliers that become Grounders, well, they become pretty anxious and often get claustrophobic because they can't fly anymore and that's pretty bad for their mental health, but-"

"Hold on, wait a moment," Starscream said and waved his servos. "Grounders can become Fliers? And Fliers can become Grounders?"

"Yes, but it's generally a bad idea unless you're a Triple-Changer," Skyfire replied. "Triple-Changers can normally turn into both a ground and an air vehicle, so bots with special Triple-Changer Transformation-Cogs are pretty adaptable, both physically and mentally. They work fine whether they can fly or not."

"Okay," Starscream replied. "Now, what does claustrophobic mean?"

"It means being afraid of small enclosed spaces," Skyfire replied. "A very common phobia among flight frames. Especially... Vosians like you."

Starscream silenced for a while, lost in thought. He remembered the panicking feeling he had had back in the Metroplex medbay, when he felt like the walls and ceiling had begun to shrink around him and he had begun getting dizzy. Had that been claustrophobia?

"Flight frames are used to be out in the open and able to fly," Starscream concluded on his own. "That's right. We panic if we can't fly, even more so if we're kept in small enclosed spaces for prolonged periods of time."

Skyfire nodded and smiled. "Well, it seemed like your friend Amy finished with her meal earlier," Skyfire said. "Shall we go over and talk to her about her staying here?"

Starscream smiled and nodded back. "We shall," he replied.

The two Seekers walked back to the railings, followed close behind by the curious Bluestreak and Cosmos, but noticed Amy and Minerva were absent. Starscream's optics darted around the human area.

"Where is Amy?" he asked concerned. "Where did you take her?"

"Relax," Cab said and put up his hands. "Amy said she had to go to the bathroom, and Minerva decided to show her the way."

Starscream cocked his head. "Bathroom? What's a bathroom?"

"I believe it's the place where humans dispose of their waste products," Skyfire replied. "I've never seen one, so I'm not sure."

"Eh, it's pretty accurate," Shuta replied and rubbed his nose with a finger. "They should be back soon."

"Do you humans do that often?" Starscream asked the boy.

"Uh, yeah, like, several times a day. Why?"

Starscream fell silent and thought. As far as he knew, Amy had been with him for at least thirteen hours, probably more even, as he didn't know at what time she arrived in his room in the desert and snuck into his subspace. It could very well have been over fifteen hours since she had last gone to that 'bathroom' thing, whatever it entailed.

The kids seemed concerned about his silence. "Uh, you haven't had her with you since yesterday, have you?" Cab asked.

"I have," Starscream replied. "She snuck into my subspace yesterday morning... that is, morning in America, and then this morning she snuck inside my cockpit before Skyfire and I went on patrol. Why?"

The boys looked concerned at each other before looking back at Starscream. "Maybe, uh, check your cockpit?" Shuta suggested.

Starscream cocked a ridge but nonetheless opened his cockpit with a click. The boys took a look inside.

"Well?" Starscream said confused. "What is it?"

The boys pulled back. "Looks fine," Cab said. "How about your subspace?"

Starscream closed his cockpit and felt in his subspace, first the left pocket, then the right pocket. Both seemed empty. He shrugged.

"I don't really understand what you're trying to say here," Starscream said. "Why should I be worried about my subspace and cockpit?"

The boys glanced at each other and to the Autobots. They burst into laughing. Starscream looked around at them, more confused than before.

"What's so funny?" Starscream asked confused.

"Oh, it's nothing," Skyfire said and pat Starscream's back. "Let's just say you're a lucky mech."

"Very, very lucky," Bluestreak said in agreement.

Starscream looked confused from bot to bot, concern building up in him. He sighed in annoyance.

"Fine. Maybe I don't want to know."

So they decided to stand there and chat, while waiting for Minerva and Amy to return so they could discuss Amy's living plans with the Autobots.

* * *

When Sunstorrm first entered his room, it was in complete darkness. But thanks to his superb Cybertronian senses, he was able to see even in this blackness and made his way to the end of the room. He knelt down and touch the crystals, until each of them glowed so brightly they illuminated the entire room in a soft blue glow.

Thirteen small blue crystals adorned a small altar, each crystal representing one of the Thirteen original Primes. In the middle of the altar lay a copy of the Covenant of Primus, which was well-worn from the many times Sunstorm had read it. He opened the book until he found a specific page and left it there. He stepped back, got down on both knees, folded his servos together, held them by his chin, closed his optics and started his prayer.

"Primus below, you who created us..." Sunstorm muttered, his wings fluttering in pace with his prayer. He always opened a prayer by greeting Primus and thanking him for his life and everything he had done for Cybertron and the Cybertronian race, as well as keeping them safe from Unicron, the Quintessons and all other things evil. He also thanked each of the Thirteen by name, save for The Fallen and The Arisen, for everything they had done for Cybertron, Primus and the Cybertronian race.

Having greeted and thanked all the important figures, Sunstorm went to what he wanted to say.

"Please keep my brother's Spark safe from harm, and if possible, guide him back to me, so we can be together again. For a long time I have not felt my brother's Spark, but now it seems he has returned. I thank thee Primus for hearing my prayers and saving my brother. I will wait for him to make his decision, for I cannot force him to return. He, like all your other children, must come on his own. Even if he is not a true Believer. He is still my brother, and I miss him. So please, great Primus, keep Starscream safe. 'Til all are one."

Having finished his verbal prayer, Sunstorm then just kept sitting on the floor with his optics closed and his servos folded in silence, repeating the prayer in his mind.

Other than the altar, Sunstorm's room didn't really have anything other than a berth in the corner next to the door to sleep on. He only went to his room for recharging or praying, otherwise he spent all his time in the command center, patrolling or on missions or in battles. Now that they had been ordered to stay in the base by Megatron, however, there would only be recharging, praying and wandering the hallways and command center, surrounded by morons for the next week, maybe even longer.

Unless, of course, they decided to go against Megatron's orders and go out anyway. Whether through the physical entrance or through the GroundBridge and land somewhere else than this cold northern region.

On the other side of Sunstorm's door, unbeknownst to Sunstorm himself, Sideways stood and listened to the low muttering of Sunstorm's verbal prayer. He smirked to himself and left the door, heading to his own quarters.

As he stepped inside the more generic berthroom with a berth, a desk and a shelf, he walked to the end of the room, touching the wall. There was a click.

The wall slid aside, revealing a secret tunnel. Sideways went into it and closed the wall behind him. He wandered through the tunnel until he saw light and exited the tunnel.

And arrived outside from a cave at the foot of the mountain, inside the pine forest.

"Time for for some spy-changing," Sideways snickered to himself.

Sideways' body parts started to shift and move around him. But instead of assuming jet mode, he stayed in robot mode... or rather, changed to a _new_ robot mode. Sideways had been altered by Shockwave and Soundwave to obtain the unique ability to assume a second robot mode, technique stolen from the little-known Autobot spy named Punch, calling himself Counterpunch when in his Decepticon form.

A few seconds later, Sideways had transformed into a bot of swapped colors of silver, orange and black, his pink visor having been replaced with a pair of blue optics, his now silver face covered by an orange mouth mask, his helm black and hornless, his now silver wings facing downwards instead of upwards. He looked different from before, different enough that no one would be able to tell that these two bots were the same.

As he transformed, his jet mode had become silver with black and some orange areas, his wings shaped slightly different than before. On his wings adorned the Autobot insignia in its characteristic red coloration.

"Time for Wayside to investigate," 'Wayside' said gleefully and took off into the sky.


End file.
